Key Verse: “Just as damaging as a madman shooting a
deadly weapon is someone who lies to a friend and then says, ‘I was only
joking.’” (v.18–19)
The rooftop garden sat high above the city, where wind softened the hum of traffic below. Rows of rosemary and lavender released their scent whenever the breeze stirred the leaves.
Solomon leaned against the railing when I arrived. His weathered leather notebook rested on a small iron table.
Two men stood beside him today.
Azariah smiled when he saw me.
The other man stepped forward and offered his hand. “Hello, I’m Amos.”
Solomon gestured toward them. “Both Azariah and Amos served under King Hezekiah. They helped gather my sayings into the collection you’re reading now.”
Azariah nodded. “When Hezekiah ordered us to preserve Solomon’s wisdom, we found scrolls scattered everywhere.”
Amos added, “What struck us most was how clearly he understood life and human behavior.”
Solomon chuckled softly. “Years of watching people will do that.”
He opened the notebook and slid it toward me.
A sketch showed a wild-eyed stick figure firing arrows in every direction.
Underneath it he had written: MADMAN
“In this passage,” Solomon said, tapping the page, “I warned about a kind of person who causes damage but pretends innocence.”
He looked directly at me and quoted the key line.
“Just as damaging as a madman shooting a deadly weapon is someone who lies to a friend and then says, ‘I was only joking.’”
The wind rustled the rosemary beside us.
“That’s sarcasm, basically,” I said.
“Sometimes,” Solomon replied gently.
Azariah stepped closer. “But more often it’s cruelty hiding behind laughter.”
Solomon nodded toward a group of office workers sitting at another table nearby. One of them slapped a coworker on the shoulder.
“Man, if laziness were a job, you’d be CEO.”
Everyone laughed.
The guy being teased laughed too—but it sounded forced.
Solomon leaned closer.
“Humor can build friendship,” he said quietly. “But humor can also be a weapon.”
Amos folded his arms. “In the royal court we saw this constantly. A man would insult someone publicly, then say, ‘Relax, I’m joking.’”
Azariah added, “It gave him cover.”
Solomon flipped the notebook to another page. This time the sketch showed a small spark landing in dry brush.
“In this same passage,” he said, “I compare gossip and stirring conflict to starting fires. One careless spark can burn an entire forest.”
I watched the coworker group begin to leave. The guy who had been mocked walked away last, hands stuffed in his pockets.
Something about the empty chair he left behind felt heavier than the laughter.
Solomon noticed my expression.
“Words travel deeper than people realize,” he said.
Then he quoted something else.
“Jesus would later say, ‘The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.’” —Matthew 12:37
“That’s intense,” I said.
“Because words reveal the heart,” Solomon replied.
Amos nodded. “Jokes often expose what someone really thinks but is afraid to say plainly.”
Solomon closed his notebook. “Let me leave you with three things,” he said.
“First: words can wound like weapons.”
“Second: calling cruelty a joke does not remove the harm.”
“Third: wise people take responsibility for the effect their words have on others.”
He gave a small smile. “Good humor brightens a room. False humor leaves quiet scars.”
As we headed toward the stairwell, I kept replaying conversations in my mind—things I’d said that got laughs.
And for the first time, I wondered how many of my “jokes” had actually been arrows.
What? Proverbs 26 warns that hurtful words disguised as humor can cause real damage to relationships.
So What? Calling something “just a joke” doesn’t erase the impact. Our words reveal what’s really in our hearts.
Now What? Before making a joke this week, pause and ask: Will this bring someone joy—or quietly cut them down?
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