February 9

Feb 9 - Today from Proverbs 9 we look at verses 7 & 8
"Whoever corrects a mocker invites insult; whoever rebukes a wicked man incurs abuse. Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man and he will love you."

Here is a lesson for those believers who believe they are appointed to condemn sin in the world. They are a very poor witness, and actually build walls where bridges need to be built. In a word, they are 'graceless'.
A mocker is the type of person who is in open rebellion against the God of the Bible, and all who follow Him. They are 'in control' of their lives, and they only submit to recognized authority when it suits their purposes or threatens their well being. They don't recognize the authority of God; therefore He poses no threat to them. Our streets, schools and work places have an abundance of mockers. Our pool of public figures and influencers seem to be proportionately overwhelmed with them. There has been a significant increase of mockers in our culture in the past fifty years or so and it seems the church is just beginning to realize how to deal with them. We are to bless them.
Now there's a novel idea. ‘These people who mock God, who insult believers, who use all of the means available to them to do away with the archaic moral confines of the past and to discredit 'Christians' and their narrow-minded ways need to be publicly rebuked - not blessed!’ - Have you read your Bible lately?
"But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven." -Jesus, Matthew 5:44, 45
"But I tell you who hear me: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. Do to others as you would have them do to you." -Jesus, Luke 6:27, 31
"But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful." -Jesus, Luke 6:35, 36
"Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse." -Romans 12:14
"Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." -Romans 12:17, 18
These are but a few passages which instruct us as individual believers, and the church, to deal with mockers. They need a witness of love, mercy and grace. They are already hostile to the gospel. To use the Bible to accuse, demean and condemn only serves to cause them to dig their heels in and fight all the harder. They are already condemned. Our task is to offer them grace in hopes that they will see the love of Christ displayed through us and perhaps give Him a fair hearing. They need to hear a message that says, "God isn't angry with you any more. He has settled issues with you through the gift of His own son." They won't listen to the words when the actions contradict the words.
When mockers are in control of a situation, it's difficult to keep in mind that we do not war against flesh and blood. Our battle is with the invisible, deceiving powers of darkness that influence mockers. One thing these powers do not understand is the power of love. They have no defense against it. It confuses their strategies and eventually will paralyze their campaign. As believers, our quest is to persevere in love. Just as our Savior did.