Are pranks sinful?
Question:
Hi,
I just wanted to ask whether pranks are a sin. I'm aware of the passage in Proverbs 26:19 where it states we shouldn't lie and then say we are joking. Does that mean all pranks are sinful?
Thank you very much.
Answer:
"Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death, is the man who deceives his neighbor, and says, "I was only joking!"" (Proverbs 26:18-19).
The word "deceives" literally means to throw or shoot with a bow. Figuratively it means to beguile or deceive, such as when Laban gave the wrong daughter to Jacob to marry. "So it came to pass in the morning, that behold, it was Leah. And he said to Laban, "What is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served you? Why then have you deceived me?" " (Genesis 29:25).
Causing someone harm with lies cannot be passed off as a joke. Harm is no laughing matter. Or putting it in a positive sense, "Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law" (Romans 13:10).
If a prank involves no sin and causes no harm, then there isn't anything wrong with having fun.
