09/06/2026
THE MOCKER — PART 1
Practical Joking: When the Joke Becomes an Action
“A merry heart doeth good like a medicine…” — Proverbs 17:22 KJV
Jokes can be fun. And honestly, who doesn’t like to laugh?
Dad jokes right now are viral side-splitters. The great thing about most Dad jokes is that they usually don’t aim to offend anybody. The exception might be the occasional self-deprecating joke where the person telling the joke makes himself the punchline.
There is nothing inherently wrong with laughter. Scripture actually tells us:
“A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.”
But unfortunately, there is a flip side to lighthearted comedic banter.
Practical joking spins the needle 180 degrees.
The irony is that most practical joking is far from practical.
A practical joke moves beyond simply telling a joke. It is action-based. Something is done to another person, their belongings, their environment, their reputation, or their circumstances in order to create a reaction—and that reaction becomes the entertainment.
Someone is frightened.
Someone is embarrassed.
Something is hidden.
Someone is deceived.
Someone is placed in an uncomfortable situation.
A boundary is crossed.
And then come the familiar words:
“I was only joking.”
Interestingly, the Bible addresses almost this exact behavior.
“As a mad man who casteth firebrands, arrows, and death, So is the man that deceiveth his neighbour, and saith, Am not I in sport?” — Proverbs 26:18–19 KJV
Think about that.
The person has done something to his neighbor and then attempts to minimize it by saying, essentially:
“Come on! I was just having fun.”
Scripture does not evaluate the behavior merely by whether the person doing it thought it was funny.
It asks us to consider what was thrown at the other person.
Firebrands.
Arrows.
Damage.
As a leader, I have actually had to intervene in practical jokes.
I remember one particular incident where I found myself canvassing a group of men trying to discover who had “forked” a young man’s yard. Numerous plastic forks had been stuck throughout his lawn as a practical joke.
The forking itself was bad enough. But what made the situation worse was that it had been done while the young man was away on vacation.
Think about that for a moment.
He wasn’t there to discover it, laugh about it, remove it, or even decide how he wanted to respond.
His home would remain in that condition until he returned.
Every neighbor who drove past could see it.
Every passerby could see it.
What was intended as a practical joke had now turned this young man’s home into a public exhibition, with him becoming the object of the joke without even being present.
And that is where practical joking can cross a very serious line.
What is funny to the person doing it can become humiliation to the person receiving it.
As believers, we also need to recognize the spiritual environment our actions can help create. Public humiliation, ridicule, and deliberate embarrassment can become open doors for spirits of shame, embarrassment, rejection, and mockery.
We should never knowingly create an atmosphere around another person that reinforces the very things Christ desires to heal and redeem.
That gives us an important principle:
Calling something a joke does not automatically make the action harmless.
The prankster may be laughing while the other person is embarrassed.
The prankster may be entertained while the other person feels violated.
The prankster may remember the incident as hilarious while the other person remembers it as humiliating.
And sometimes when the person objects, we make matters worse:
“Lighten up!”
“Can’t you take a joke?”
But perhaps the better question isn't whether they can take a joke.
Perhaps the better question is whether I know when to stop one.
There is certainly room in healthy relationships for fun, laughter, surprises, and even playful practical joking when everyone understands the boundaries.
But Christian maturity should make us increasingly aware of the dignity, boundaries, and feelings of other people.
“And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.” — Luke 6:31 KJV
Before the prank, ask:
Would I want this done to me?
Could this humiliate someone?
Could this frighten someone?
Am I crossing a boundary for the entertainment of everybody watching?
And perhaps most importantly:
Will we both be laughing when this is over?
Because there is a difference between creating a moment of laughter and making another human being the price of the laugh.
A merry heart really does good like medicine.
But medicine isn't supposed to leave somebody wounded.
