Proverbs 1:26: They’re all going to laugh at you!

[Wisdom says:] “I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when terror strikes you,”
-Proverbs 1:26

Maybe I shouldn’t have, but I found it funny sometimes.

I used to work in the criminal courts, and I was always amazed at some of the people who asked some of the things they did. Sometimes they had just been convicted of crimes that very day, and they came to me, wanting me (a lowly clerk) to wipe it off their record, or maybe clear a fine for them. So boldly they asked, as though they deserved it! Sometimes they wanted me to write letters to employers that their record was clean. And when I wouldn’t, they would get upset at me, like I was the problem!

Most common of all were the people who didn’t go to a court date because they didn’t feel like it, and then they would yell at me when a cop came to their door to arrest them. I would try to explain that they had missed their court date and a warrant was issued, but they didn’t feel like those rules applied to them.

My coworkers and I would often laugh at this. We weren’t laughing so much at the situation these people were in, but that they somehow thought it was OUR fault.

We sometimes have that attitude with God. We don’t even think about it! Whenever we die, we are sure God will have no problem just wiping away any sin we have committed. God is love, right? Surely He won’t really expect us to pay for what we have done! We’re good people!

Let me tell you the truth. We are thieves, liars, blasphemers, and murderers. Have you ever stolen anything? Ever told a lie? Ever used the Lord’s name in vain? Ever been unduly angry at someone? Then we are guilty.

Do you think that all thieves, liars, blasphemers, and murderers should be allowed into heaven, or only you? Are you like one of those people in my court, who don’t think the law applies to you?

Say a murderer went before a judge and said, “Sir, I am a thief, but you are a loving person, let me free!” Say the judge said, “Okay, you’re right! Go free!” What would we think of the judge? Not much, I imagine. We would not think him just at all.

How much more just is God than any of us? God invented justice, after all! Why do you think He would not justly punish those who do wrong? The punishment is not one you want to face, for breaking merely one part of the Law is a transgression against the entirety of the Law (James 2:10), and the sentence for sin is death (Romans 6:23).

If you are just shrugging off the things you do wrong, thinking that God won’t care or He won’t notice, then you’re in for a surprise. You will be mocked. You will be punished.

But isn’t God merciful? Indeed He is, more so than any of us ever could be. That is why He sent His Son.

See, every sin must be paid with blood, but the perfect Man, Jesus Christ, died undeservedly, and in that death He is able to take our sin and pay our debt for us. In exchange, He is able to give us His righteousness so we can walk in the light.

But as with any gift, you must accept it. You must repent of your sin and turn your life over to Christ. If you get to Judgment Day with an attitude that “I am good enough,” you’ll find a perfectly just God laughing at your sheer silliness. But if you go with the confession that you are NOT good enough, but that you have laid your sins at the foot of the Cross, you will find that Christ has already paid the price for you.

This is too important to be left until tomorrow. If you do not know Him, then seek Him today. Ask for His forgiveness and His mercy, and let His wrath against you be sated at the Cross.