What does the Bible say about making fun of others?
Bible Topic · WEB
The Bible condemns making fun of others as proud, unloving speech that dishonors people made in God’s image and wounds rather than builds up. Proverbs 17:5 warns that mocking the poor reproaches their Maker, while Ephesians 4:29 calls believers to words that give grace to those who hear. Jesus forbids self-righteous judgment in Matthew 7:1-2 and commands us to treat others as we would wish to be treated in Luke 6:31. Proverbs 26:18-19 exposes cruel joking as deceptive and destructive, even when dismissed as harmless fun. Christians are called to humility, love, and repentance, speaking truth with kindness and seeking the good of neighbor rather than amusement at another’s expense.
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Rankings: OpenBible.info Topical Bible (CC BY) · Scripture: World English Bible
- Proverbs 17:5
Whoever mocks the poor reproaches his Maker. He who is glad at calamity shall not be unpunished.
- Ephesians 4:29
Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but such as is good for building up as the need may be, that it may give grace to those who hear.
- Matthew 7:1-2
[1] "Don't judge, so that you won't be judged. [2] For with whatever judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with whatever measure you measure, it will be measured to you.
- James 4:11-12
[11] Don't speak against one another, brothers. He who speaks against a brother and judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge. [12] Only one is the lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge another?
- Proverbs 11:12
One who despises his neighbor is void of wisdom, But a man of understanding holds his peace.
- Proverbs 24:17
Don't rejoice when your enemy falls. Don't let your heart be glad when he is overthrown;
- Proverbs 26:18-19
[18] Like a madman who shoots firebrands, arrows, and death, [19] Is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, "Am I not joking?"
- Galatians 5:14-15
[14] For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, in this: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." [15] But if you bite and devour one another, be careful that you don't consume one another.
- Philippians 2:3
doing nothing through rivalry or through conceit, but in humility, each counting others better than himself;
- Luke 6:31
"As you would like people to do to you, do exactly so to them.
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