“Even in laughter the heart may ache, and joy may end in grief (Proverbs 14:13).”
Have you ever noticed someone who seems to be making all the wrong decisions, and yet he or she seems happy about it? Perhaps you talk to a friend about wrong decisions and the person responds, “Well it may be wrong, but I’ve never been happier.”
How do you interpret the person who appears to be successful at foolishness? What do you say to a person who is having the time of his or her life doing the wrong thing?
Proverbs 14:13 says that even in laughter the heart may ache, and joy may end in grief. The person who seems to be laughing to you may still have a great emptiness or ache at the center of their lives. The laughter you see may only mask hurt that is inside.
If you are close, you might just ask the person, “Yes, I know there is ‘laughter’ in your life, but do you still ache as well?”
If the person counters that he or she is thoroughly happy about his or her direction, then consider warning them from the last part of the Proverb. “Joy may end in grief” Or, as Paul says in Galatians, don’t be deceived. God cannot be mocked. You will reap what you sow.
True joy flows out of a heart bursting with the knowledge of Christ. The joyous laughter of belief — which ebbs and flows until Jesus comes back — only anticipates a time of eternal joy when we will know the Lord Jesus Christ forever.
