Proverbs 26: 18-19
I read Proverbs 26: 18-19 last week and had thought of posting on it. I was finally prompted to when I saw Abraham Piper blog on it too. This was the comment I posted in reply:
"I just read this verse in my yearly Bible reading plan yesterday. I was tickled to find today that you had written a post about it recently too. When I read this verse, I was reminded about two cases I studied in tort law class recently:
One is the case of Scott v Shepherd (1773), where the defendant was held liable for throwing a light squib (like a firebrand!) into a crowded market, which ended up blinding the plaintiff.
The other is the case of Wilkinson v Downton (1897) where the defendant was held liable for telling the plaintiff that her husband had been seriously injured in an accident resulting in her suffering nervous shock. He was really fine, and the defendant had been deliberately playing a very nasty prank.
This verse jumped out at me when I saw how it seems to match the facts of these cases so well. I’m sure that this verse does not preclude harmless, lighthearted jokes. However, it does warn against malicious mischief, which is illustrated in real-life by these two law cases.
The Bible speaks so perceptively of human nature. We are so predictably sinful. Thank God that he saved us from our degenerate state!"
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