4 minute read<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLike a maniac shooting flaming arrows of death is one who deceives their neighbor and says, \u201cI was only joking!\u201d (Proverbs 26:18-19 NIV)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Jokes cause pain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Raised with two brothers, I understand the pain that comes when people make fun of you.\u00a0 No matter how old I am, they can make me feel less than with the words they speak to me\u2014feelings of foolishness, embarrassment, rejection, and disappointment all roll together to fuel an ugly fire.\u00a0 Words can\u2019t express the extent of the pain.\u00a0 For some reason, leaving behind our childish ways is more challenging in some situations than others.\u00a0 But we can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Times, when we feel the most hurt in this world is when turning to God is hardest.\u00a0 Recently, when my brother\u2019s once again made me feel less than, I asked God a question.\u00a0 \u201cAre you really there?\u201d\u00a0 Sometimes, God doesn\u2019t seem present.\u00a0 We seek Him, but He doesn\u2019t seem to answer.\u00a0 Prayers we\u2019ve prayed for years go unanswered.\u00a0 God\u2019s intangibility is difficult when we crave tangible.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Choose to believe<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As I sat in my quiet place, waiting for a sign of God\u2019s presence, I thought of my friend Mike.\u00a0 After his son was murdered<\/a>, and he almost lost his own life, Mike had to choose.\u00a0 He spent his life following Jesus; would he still?\u00a0 He chose God.\u00a0 When I asked God, \u201cAre you there?\u201d I had a choice.\u00a0 Thinking of Mike, I responded to God.\u00a0 \u201cI choose to believe You are.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another hard truth, you\u2019ve made someone else the butt of your joke.\u00a0 We all have at some point.\u00a0 I\u2019ve made fun of people.\u00a0 God forgive me, but I have.\u00a0 My brother\u2019s treatment of me reminds me of that fact.\u00a0 As I work through the pain, I recognize my own sin.\u00a0 A particular instance comes to mind, which I\u2019m humiliated to admit.\u00a0 Years have gone by since the incident, and all is well, but I still feel the shame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Words hurt.\u00a0 They are arrows of death that sting deeply.\u00a0 A fine line exists between having a little fun and making them the butt of the joke.\u00a0 One thing is real, hurting people hurt others.\u00a0 Sometimes, we take things too far in our joking because of our pain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Full confession, in my past, I made fun of others out of my pain.\u00a0 Placing attention on others takes it away from me.\u00a0 Following Jesus words changed my ways:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak,\u201d (<\/em>Matthew 12:36 ESV<\/em><\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead of tearing down with words, build people up:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDo not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.\u201d (<\/em>Ephesians 4:29 NIV<\/em><\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Shoot arrows of love with your words. Give life with love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Question of the Day:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Who do you need to build up with words of love today?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Further Reading:<\/strong>Jeremiah 51:54-52:34 NIV<\/a>, Titus 3:1-15 NIV<\/a>, Psalm 100:1-5 NIV<\/a>, Proverbs 26:18-19 NIV<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 4 minute read \u201cLike a maniac shooting flaming arrows of death is one who deceives their neighbor and says, \u201cI was only joking!\u201d (Proverbs 26:18-19 NIV) Jokes cause pain. Raised with two brothers, I understand the pain that comes when people make fun of you.\u00a0 No matter how old I am, they can make me… Continue reading WHO HAS MADE YOU THE BUTT OF THEIR JOKE?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","without-featured-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2649"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2649\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2653,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2649\/revisions\/2653"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}