Mission Hills Church
Sticks and stones may break our bones...but words can kill our souls. That’s why James calls the tongue a restless evil, full of deadly poison. In an increasingly digital world, our words have more power now than perhaps ever before. Join us for a timely study of God’s wisdom for dealing with four kinds of toxic talk that are a dangerous trap for all of us.
James 3:5-10 NIV
Mockery is making fun of someone you disagree with.
Psalms 1:1 NIV
God calls mockery a wicked sin.
Mockery spreads disrespect.
Proverbs 19:29 NIV
Why does God compare mockers to fools?
1. Fools prefer mockery over the much harder work of intellectual debate.
2. Permitting mockery prevents wisdom.
The good news is that when we remove mockery from our lives, we find that wisdom grows in its place.
Proverbs 1:22 NIV
Complexity challenges certainty.
The wise acknowledge complexity and talk carefully, but mockers ignore complexity and talk carelessly.
Proverbs 14:6 NIV
Mockers look for ammo rather than info.
Proverbs 14:6 NIV
Proverbs 18:15 NIV
Biblical discernment is more about seizing what's right than spotting what's wrong.
If you want to be wise, stop looking for ammo and start looking for info.
Proverbs 21:24 NIV
Proverbs 22:10 NIV
What better way to practice spreading peace instead of poison than to refuse to mock those that we disagree with?
1. Recognize it.
Mockery is talking about a parody like it’s a portrait.
If what I’m saying about a person is all someone else has to go on, would they be getting a parody or a portrait?
2. Refuse to participate.
Do a “mockery review” of your social media activity for the past month.
3. Reset your search.
When we remove mockery from our lives, we find that wisdom grows in its place.
Am I willing to start looking for info rather than ammo?