No Joke – Proverbs 10:23-25

I was in an airport (forget which one) coming back from a mission trip to India with my friend John. As we waited to board our next flight for home I struck up a conversation with another guy on our flight. Turns out he had been part of a pretty good rock band from the 60’s, a Brit, and he talked about how bad it got with drinking and drugging. But he said it in such a humorous way that it seemed to excuse it. Are all Brits like this?

Doing wrong is like a joke to a fool, but wisdom is pleasure to a man of understanding.

What the wicked dreads will come upon him, but the desire of the righteous will be granted.

When the tempest passes, the wicked is no more, but the righteous is established forever. (Proverbs 10:23-25, ESV)

We may think of these three proverbs as three tests of righteousness:

The pleasure test: Pleasure is the domain of the clear conscience. Its substitute is nervous mirth. The fool, the wicked person, finds doing wrong a joke, and that is a sign that his guilty conscience has been by-passed in an attempt to feel positive about his behavior. Real pleasure alludes him, unlike the man of understanding, whose pleasure is deep and abiding.

The hope test: The desires of the righteous are in line with the desires of God and therefore have hope of being fulfilled. The wicked person knows deep down that his wickedness must be repaid justly and instead of hope has dread. The righteous knows that even if his future involves suffering his relationship with God will make that meaningful.

The judgment test: Judgments do come and God uses various ways of eliminating wicked people from the earth while passing over the righteous. The righteous one might experience an early death. But the rule is that the righteous prevail in life and the lives of the wicked are cut short.

Do you pass the tests?

About the Author Randall Johnson

A full-time pastor since 1979, Randall originally graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary (ThM) in 1979 and from Reformed Theological Seminary (DMin) in 1998. He is married with four grown children and a pile of epic grandchildren.

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