 You're going to keep your place there in 2 Samuel chapter 16, 2 Samuel chapter 16. So this is the story of David. He's fleeing from his son who is overthrown, who's kind of, you know, prosecuted a coup against him. Absalom has taken over the kingdom and David is fleeing with all his people, with his family, with his mighty men, and David is basically running away. So this morning, we're going to talk about a portion of the chapter here. So keep your place there, but this morning what I want to talk about is just a portion of this in verse number five is where we're going to be looking at. They're starting this morning, but I want to talk about the subject of scorn this morning, the subject of scorn and people that scorn or scorners this morning. So the Bible says, I mean, what is scorn? Scorn is all over the Bible. You'll hear this word all throughout the Bible. You'll talk about people that do scorn, you know, the Bible talks in Proverbs about how we're supposed to handle scorn. You know, basically what does it mean to be scorn or to be a scorner or to deal with scorn? A scorner, you know, the definition of it is a person who expresses contempt or disdain for someone or something. So it's a someone who doesn't like you and they're expressing that towards you, but they express it in a myriad of different ways, right? So look, these are just not polite people, all right, is what we're going to deal with in this morning's sermon. So there's, you know, there's a lot of scorn in the Bible. If you look at the word scorn in the Bible, it's just dozens and dozens of times, you'll see the word scorn, both in the Old Testament and the New Testament. So today we're going to look at methods that people use to scorn and we're going to look at how we should handle scorn in our lives and how we should handle someone that's scorning us and, you know, God forbid we become a scorner or we become part of that. So that's another point of the sermon this morning and, you know, what should our reaction to it be? As Christians, you know, biblically, how should we handle scorn in our lives? So this is a great example in 2 Samuel chapter 16 of both scorn in the Bible and how to handle scorn in the Bible. Look at 2 Samuel chapter 16 and verse number five. So David is down and out here. He's literally fleeing for his life. He's running away from Absalom who has taken over the kingdom and the Bible says in 2 Samuel 16 5, the Bible says that something happens here and when David came to Barum, behold, there came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gerah. He came forth and cursed still as he came. So this man was, you know, a relative of Saul, you know, the king previously that is now dead. Saul and Jonathan, of course, were killed and this is, you know, one of Saul's relatives. And the Bible says in verse six, and he cast stones at David and at all the servants of King David and the people and all the mighty men that were on his right hand and on his left. And thus said Shimei when he cursed, come out, come out thou bloody man and thou man of Bilal. The Lord hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul in whose stead thou hath reigned and the Lord hath delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son and behold thou art taken in thy mischief because thou art a bloody man. So here's this man. I mean, he's calling him a son of the devil. He's throwing stones at him. He's just cursing David. So I mean, David is down here. He's, that is probably one of the lowest points of his life. And here this guy is coming at him, just cursing him, saying the worst things possible that you could ever say to somebody and just tearing into him basically. And this is, you know, this is scorn that David is dealing with here. So look, scorns all over the Bible. I mean, even Jesus endured scorn throughout not only, you know, his crucifixion of course, but throughout his ministry. Turn to Mark chapter five. You know, of course, you know, we've, we just studied this in the book of Matthew. You end a book of Matthew, the crucifixion, you know, Jesus was scourged. He was mocked. Look, he dealt with a lot of scorn at the end of his life when he was executed, when he was crucified. But look at Mark chapter five. Mark chapter five. Let me turn there myself. The Bible says, look at verse number 39. Mark chapter five and verse number 39. Hang on, let me get there myself. Mark chapter five. Look at verse 39. This is, of course, Jesus. This, someone's daughter has died. And the Bible says in verse 39, and when he was come in, he saith unto them, why make he this adieu and weep? The damsel is not dead, but sleepeth. So here he says that she's just sleeping. And everybody, of course, knows that she has died physically. So they're wondering, you know, what he's talking about. And instead of asking him and, you know, inquiring respectfully about what he means, it says in verse 40, and they laughed him to scorn. But when he had put them all out, he had taken the father and mother, the damsel, and they were with him and entered into where the damsel was lying. And of course, he raises her from the dead, and then they weren't laughing anymore, right? But Jesus put up with scorn as well. So the question is, you know, what was the reaction? Go back to 2 Samuel chapter 16. And Jesus just didn't respond to it. It's very simple how Jesus reacted to it. But let's look at how David, David takes it a little bit further here, look at verse number 9 of 2 Samuel 16. How does David respond to Shimei? So David, I mean, he's down and out, but he's walking, he's leaving the city with the greatest soldiers that have ever basically lived at this point. And this guy is basically cursing him and scorning him. Look at verse number 9 of 2 Samuel 16. The Bible says, then Abishai, the son of Zariah, so we know who Abishai is, and why it said unto the king, why should this dead dog curse my Lord the king? Let me go over, I pray thee, and take off his head. And the king said, what have I to do with you, ye sons of Zariah? So let him curse, because the Lord said unto him, curse David. Who shall then say, wherefore hest thou done so? And David said to Abishai and to all his servants, behold, my son, which came forth of my bowels, seeketh my life, how much more now may this benjamite do it? Let him alone, and let him curse, for the Lord hath bidden him. So he says, look, he says, let him curse. He said, the Lord has told him to curse. The Lord has told this guy to curse me. Go back to 2 Samuel chapter 12. So is this true? Did the Lord say that this guy was going to curse David and that this was going to happen? Because the guy, I mean, shimei was partially right, or David was actually right, saying that this was of the Lord, what was happening to him. But it wasn't because of the blood of the house of Saul. Okay, look back at 2 Samuel chapter 12, and we'll see that there was a reason for what was happening to David. I mean, it was of the Lord, and David knew this, which is why he said that to Abishai, which is why he didn't just say to Abishai, yeah, take off his head. I'm tired of hearing this, okay? Look at 2 Samuel chapter 12 in verse number seven. This is right after Nathan, the prophet, has come to David and given him the analogy of the man who had the sheep, and then the rich man stole the sheep, and used that sheep for himself. And then Nathan, he says to David, he's trying to make an analogy of what David has done with Bathsheba, stealing a man's wife, and then killing her husband, okay? And the Bible says, and Nathan said unto David, thou art the man. Thus sayeth the Lord God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul. And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things. So Nathan is saying to David, he's like, look, I gave you everything. I got rid of Saul, and I gave you the kingdom. You have everything you want, and if that wasn't enough for you, I would have given you more, is what God is saying through Nathan here. Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord to do evil in this sight? Thou hast killed your eye of the Hittite with the sword, and taken his wife to be thy wife. He's like, it wasn't enough for you. See, all you would have had to have done was ask me, and I would have given you more. You know, you had all these wives, it just wasn't enough, so you stole somebody else's wife, is what he's saying. And taken his wife to be thy wife, and has slain him with the sword of the children of Adam. So he basically, you know, he steals the guy's wife, and then he murders him to, you know, so he can keep his wife and cover up what happened. Okay, it just gets worse and worse. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house. This is what David is talking about. This is Nathan telling David what's gonna happen, what his punishment is going to be. He says, now therefore, because you did all these things, this is what's going to happen. The sword shall never depart from thine house. He's like, you're gonna be fighting your whole life. Because thou hast despised me, and taken the wife of your eye of the Hittite to be thy wife. And now look, it gets even more specific. He says, you're gonna fight, you're never gonna have peace your whole life. Imagine that. Imagine that, we're living in peace today. I mean, whatever you wanna say about how messed up things are in this country, we're living in peace today. We are not fighting for our lives every single day today in this country. Nathan says to David, you're going to be fighting your whole life. You will never have peace. The sword will not depart from your house. And then he says in verse number 11, he gets more specific, which is what David is talking about when he's talking to Abishai. He says, thus saith the Lord, behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house. There it is right there. He's saying out of your own, your own family is going to turn against you, which is what is being realized in 2 Samuel chapter 16. So David knew that what was happening was prophecy, was punishment for what he had done, and he was reflecting on himself. So it's interesting that he was being scorned and instead of just reacting like most people would want to do in the flesh, David used that as a moment to reflect on himself. So his scorn was part of his punishment, which is also interesting. So we're going to look at that a little bit, but I want to give you that story of scorn. So the application this morning is, how do we handle scorn in our lives? How do we handle scorners? I mean, are there scorners today? Are there people that scorn today in your life? I mean, do you run into scorners? Most of you guys, you men who go out and work in the world, I'm sure that there are scorners in your workplace. I'm sure of it. I'm positive of it. So look, especially, look, because there's kind of two camps in the workforce. This is kind of what I've seen over the last 20 years. There's going to be two camps. There's people that go to work and try to do a good job. And then there's people that don't want to do a good job and they want to get by doing the bare minimum. And these are the people over here that end up, because they don't like the people that are doing a good job. They don't like the people that are going to drive hard at work and try to do the best that they can and work for the Lord. That's why it doesn't even really matter who your boss is because you're supposed to go to work like you're serving the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what you're supposed to do. That's what the Bible says. So when you go and you do that, you're going to make people mad because there's people that don't want to work. They want to go there. They want to get paid and they want to do the bare minimum that it takes to do that. And those people are going to become the scorners. Those are the people that are going to go around behind your back and they're going to backbite and they're going to, you know, oh, this guy and that and they're going to try to find things wrong with things that you do. But look, it's mostly behind the back stuff, which is what we're going to find today when we look at scorning today is almost all scorning you will see in our society today is behind the back stuff. I mean, it's not good, okay? So look, if you do well, you will be scorned in the workplace. So, whatever, I mean, just deal with it, right? The scorners are the slackers, you know? And first of all, don't ever be part of that. Don't ever be part of that group. Because guess what? If you're there and you're even listening to it, you're part of it. And if people see you, you know, people know who the scorners are, by the way. You know, your bosses, your managers, whoever you work for, the owner of the company, they know who the scorners are. And if they see you around that, they're gonna put you in that camp. Okay, so that's the first thing. Don't be part of it, leave that type of situation. Be watching for it and get away from it as fast as you possibly can, all right? How about online today? Online today, is there any scorn online? Is there scorners online today? Look, it's a real problem today. This internet stuff, this internet scorning. People will say things on a keyboard that they would never say to someone's face. I mean, it's so bad online, it's crazy. I remember, I mean, this isn't really online stuff, but people just, people are so brave when they're not standing in front of you. I remember we were going out to pizza in Sacramento one time, we were driving through a parking lot and I don't know if I didn't see the guy or I turned and somebody was trying to turn at the same time. And it was this kid, he must have been, I don't know, I suppose he had to be 16 to drive, but he must have been 16 or 17 and he saw me and he just like doing this in his car, like getting all crazy, you know? And I'm just like this little kid's, you know, all upset at me, oh man, what do I do, you know? But then we parked the car, we got out of the car and he was going to the same place as us and he actually ended up holding the door for us as we walked in and he realized that I was the guy that he like made all the gestures to and all this kind of stuff. And I remember he's like, oh, no, sorry about that, sir, sorry about that, I just didn't see you there and he was all apologetic, right? Because now he's in front of my face. So when he's in his car, and the same thing, it's even worse online when people get behind a keyboard, they will say things that they would never say to someone's face, never, it's just insane. I mean, look, I miss the days, I miss the days like back when I was a teenager, it was like, oh yeah, say that to my face, man. You know, I miss those days, badly. Because if you had to say everything that you were gonna say to someone's face, most people today wouldn't say hardly anything. Because they just, I mean, look, you don't see a lot of, you don't see a lot of shimmy eye scorn today, right? You just don't see that. I mean, think about shimmy eye, I mean, say what you want about shimmy eye, but I mean, the guy had some courage here. I mean, David's walking with the mighty men and he walks up to them and so, I mean, these mighty men, I mean, go read the stories of the mighty men in the Bible. They killed hundreds of people by themselves. I mean, these were like some serious, I mean, these were the, these were warriors. And he goes up and starts throwing rocks at them and cursing them out. Cursing out their leader whom they love, right? I mean, right in front of their face. I mean, shimmy eye had some courage. I mean, he wasn't behind, you know, a keyboard, you know, like, oh yeah, a bloody man. You know, he was right there in David's face. You gotta give him credit for that, right? You don't see that today. You don't see that in your face scorned today, but it's still scorned. It's still scorned. If you're behind a keyboard, if you're behind somebody's back at work, it is still scorned, the same. You are still insulting people, trying to hurt people, all this. Like passive aggressiveness could be a whole sermon in itself, but it's scorned. That's what it is. When you're being passive aggressive to people, you know, what is passive aggressiveness? You say, what is that? Well, it's funny because I looked it up and WebMD has an article on passive aggressiveness. That means that like it's an illness or someone at least thinks it is. Here's what WebMD says about passive aggressive behavior. Because this is a major part of scorn today, too. People will scorn people through passive aggressive comments. Here's what WebMD says. Passive aggressive behavior is when you express negative feelings. Isn't that what Shimi I was doing? He was expressing some seriously negative feelings directly to David, right? But when you express negative feelings indirectly, instead of openly talking about them. I mean, that's a great definition. During World War II when soldiers wouldn't fall officers' orders, experts described them as passive aggressive. A new term back then, but still relevant today. Someone who uses passive aggression may feel angry, resentful or frustrated, but they act pleasant or even cheerful. So this is a person whose heart is very angry. So the difference between a passive aggressive person and what Shimi I was doing was that Shimi I's heart was angry, but he was expressing anger. It matched his heart, right? A passive aggressive person will still have that angry heart. They'll still have a problem with their heart, but they try to like overcompensate and be cheerful and happy while saying these behind the, kind of in between things. Passive, and then it says, they find indirect ways to show how they really feel. So they'll make these indirect comments that show how their heart feels, right? But look, it shows. That's the bottom line, it shows. And pass, and then it continues and it finishes. Passive aggression isn't a mental illness. I might actually disagree with that because I think people that are constantly passive aggressive, something's wrong with them. I mean, something is wrong with these people, okay? But people with mental health conditions may act that way. Passive aggression could damage your personal and professional relationships. You think, if you're passive aggressive, here's just a thought for you. If you're passive aggressive, everyone's gonna hate you. No one's gonna like you if you're passive aggressive. People do not like this, all right? So look, if you have the problem, like, because here's the problem, turn to Matthew chapter 18. It's totally against the Bible. Totally, to act this way, right? Because look, the Bible, I mean, here's the thing. If you have a problem, just come out and say it. I mean, that's what you're supposed to do. I mean, don't get me started on fake people. Fake people could be a sermon series from flatters to people that just, the Bible says flatters are spreading a net for your feet. You know, flatters are people that have a dark heart. It's basically people that have something wrong with their heart and they do all these subtle things to try to cover that up. But it always comes out. I mean, look at Matthew chapter 18. Look, the Bible gives us very specific direction on how to handle things. So let me give you a passive aggressive example, first of all. So like, we sit around here and we talk in the evenings after church service, right? And I mean, the best conversations, by the way, this isn't part of the sermon, the best conversations happen like towards the end. So if you wanna get into really good ones, you gotta stick around to the end, guys. I mean, we had one a couple nights ago that I'm still thinking about today. I mean, it was like, you know, mind blowing stuff. But let's say we're sitting around in our circle and we're talking and, you know, and one night, Brother Johannes says something that, you know, that I just really have a problem with. Right, we're in a good conversation and he says something. I'm just gonna use Brother Johannes as an example. I'm sorry, brother, it's not real, okay? But he says something that I'm just really, that just really bothers me, all right? He says that he likes apples better than oranges. Let's say he likes, and I'm just super offended. I'm so offended, I'm convinced he's wrong. I mean, it's clearly been proven that oranges are better than apples. I'm so upset with him, right? And I don't say anything to him, though. He says that, but I don't say anything to him. But I have an issue with Brother Johannes now because of this apples-oranges thing that he's clearly wrong about. I'm right, he's wrong, I'm offended, and I mean, our relationship is broken now because of this thing, all right? So every time I'm around him in the future, I subtly, like when we're in groups of people, I subtly like insult apple farmers, right? And I'm like, yeah, everybody knows that apple farmers are morons, right? And I just subtly just throw all these things in. When I know he just loves apples and where they come from and all the people that grow apples, and I'm just sticking it to him subtly, right in front of everybody, too, right? This is passive, aggressive behavior right here. And Brother Johannes will sit there and he'll know exactly what I'm doing. He'll be like, oh yeah, oh yeah, oh, oh this is about the other night. That's what he'll be thinking. And he'll be upset with me doing this, but I'm just subtly scorning him is what I'm doing. I'm just scorning him again and again, right? But look, I'm in a super good mood about it, right? I'm in a super good mood about it. Most times we're with a bunch of people and Johannes is there and I'm just passive aggressively just attacking him again and again and again. And I'm just like, ha, ha, ha. Apple farmers are dumb. Everybody knows that, right? Everybody knows that orange farmers and oranges and everything that has to do with growing oranges is way better than apples, right? But I'm just, and look, women are bad at this. I hate to, I don't wanna pick on women, but most times guys will either say nothing or like say it right to your face. A lot of times. And guys, if you do this, you're acting like a woman. So I'm sorry. Women are bad at this. You know women, you know it. I mean women are nodding their heads, all right? Men, I mean men are a little bit more direct. You know, women will do this. I've seen women do this with kids, right? Because women, you know, a lot of times women, they're, you know, what's their one thing that they're most invested in is their children, right? So I mean you'll see, sometimes I've seen women do things like this where I've heard of this, you know, where maybe two women are standing together and the one woman thinks that the other woman has, you know, misbehaving children and she's not raising her children right or something and she'll say, well, so-and-so who's not there has super well-behaved children. When you're sitting there staring at your own children, right, so I mean these are passive-aggressive ways to attack people. Look, it's scorn. If you do this, you're a scorner and men and women can do it. I'm sorry if I picked on the women a little bit there but the bottom line is this, you're hurting people if you do this. You're hurting people. It's scorning people. And look, maybe the worst thing about it is is people know you're doing it and people aren't gonna like you. I mean who would want people to not like them, right? People are gonna not like you because you're gonna damage relationships. Are you in Matthew 18? That's why the Bible gives us so much specific direction on how to handle conflict with each other. The Bible says in Matthew 18, verse 15, moreover, if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone. If he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. So ultimately from the internet, to back-biting at work, to passive-aggressiveness, to many other things, most scorners are cowards basically today is what's going on. They won't say anything to your face because look, Shimei wasn't a coward. He said it right to his face. We had a problem with David and he was saying it right to his face but this behind the back, this subtlety stuff, it makes it even worse. It makes it even worse for you. We should have nothing to do with it because if you stay your part of it like I said, but look, tell your brother your fault, your issues with him. That's what you're supposed to do. You're supposed to go up to them and say, look, you know, I'm sorry that I said that about, you know, I mean, look, if I would come up to Brother Johannes and be like, look man, the other night when you said that about oranges, I was really upset because, you know, my grandpa has been an orange farmer for years and I just feel like oranges are better than apples. He'd just be like, oh, you know, he'd probably be like, oh, I didn't mean it that way or whatever. And you know, the odds are that the whole thing would just end right there. I didn't mean to imply oranges were bad. You know, maybe it just came out wrong or whatever. And then, you know, the Bible says I've gained a brother at that point. It's over, it's done. So, I mean, the first lesson with scorers is that don't be one is the first lesson. Even this subtlety, it doesn't make it any better. It may make it, see, here's the thing. It makes it easier for you to do, but it's still the same thing. It's still the same thing. You're still being a scorner just because, you know, you can't be, I mean, just because you can't be up front with people doesn't mean you're not doing it. You're not being a scorner, all right? And look, you say, well, it's uncomfortable. Look, here's a problem with America. Here's a big problem with America. People are not used to any kind of confrontation at all anymore. People are just, they have such a comfortable life. They don't want any kind of confrontation anymore. They don't want to go up to somebody and say, brother, can we talk for a minute? Because look, it's kind of uncomfortable. It's kind of uncomfortable in those moments, but that's what the Bible says you have to do, so do it. That's what the Bible says you have to do. So don't be one, we know that, right? So why do people, you know, why do people be scorners? Turn to Hosea chapter seven. Let's look at a couple of reasons why people are scorners. I mean, it's just, it's not conflict, it's conflict resolution by talking one-on-one with your brother. And then of course, you know, the Bible has even further direction for us after that, but 99% of the time, that will solve it. Just talking one-on-one respectfully with the person that you have a problem with. Look at Hosea chapter seven. Why are people scorners? Why do people get involved in it? Look at Hosea chapter seven in verse number three. The Bible says this. It says they make the king glad with their wickedness. So here's these people and they're kind of, they're sucking the king in. This king's getting drawn into this wickedness and the princes with their lies. They're all adulterers as an oven heated by the baker who seeeth us from raising after he had kneaded the dough until it be leavened. In the day of our king, the princes have made him sick with bottles of wine. He stretched out his hand with scorners. He's joined, this guy has foolishly joined the scorners, the Bible says. So look, there's kind of a mob mentality with this scorning too. Especially online today. There's a mob mentality with this. People just wanna like, especially look, it can be easy to wanna, you know, dog pile somebody. Especially if you think that they're wrong. You think somebody's wrong. Look at Hosea chapter eight, just one chapter over. And you say, you know, like, you say that person's wrong and it's right to just dog pile this person and scorn them. But look, ultimately this is what you need to know. If you're jumping on dog piles and you're joining hands with scorners and you're just jumping on these piles, don't miss this. Look at Hosea chapter eight and look at verse number seven. Because I've seen this dozens of times in my life and it's bad. Look at Hosea eight, seven. For they have sown the wind and they shall reap the whirlwind. It had no stock but the bud shall yield no meal. If so be it yield, the stranger shall swallow it up. So this is what comes around, goes around. That's what it's saying here. If you sow to the wind and I can't tell you how many times I've seen people jump on dog piles and be scorning people and scorning people and scorning people and when it comes to be their turn to get scorned, it's way worse. It's way worse. So look, if you're a scorer and you join hands with the scorners and you jump on the dog pile. Look, it will be worse when it comes to you. So remember that. If all you care about is yourself, remember this right here. I mean, even David, even David knew that the scorn that he was realizing was punishment. David knew it. I mean, you'll see this play out with people. They sown to the wind and they reaped what? They reaped the whirlwind. It was worse. So look, I mean, David, I mean, this is another thing about David's heart. So think about that too. If you're enduring scorn, why don't you think like David for a minute? I mean, think about David, he's enduring scorn and not only is he not reacting the way, is he reacting the right way, which we'll talk about in a little bit, but he uses it as a time to reflect on himself. He uses it as a time of reflection. He's like, you know what, this is punishment for me. So remember that. When you're standing around that group of guys at work, and maybe you don't like that guy, maybe that guy that's doing really well that everybody's scorning, maybe you just personally don't like him. Maybe you wanna jump in on that scorn pile, but get ready, because the whirlwind's coming back around to you if you're part of that. So you think about that. You think about that. It doesn't matter if the guy's right or wrong. If you're a scorner, the whirlwind's coming back around to you. That's what Hosea 8 is talking about. I mean, Hosea 7 was just talking about scorn, joining hands with scorners. She'd say, okay, I'm not a scorner. I've fixed it. I'm not a scorner. I'm not gonna do that. I've fixed it. So how do I handle scorn? How do I handle scorn in my life? Turn to Romans chapter 12. Turn to Romans chapter 12. Romans chapter 12 is maybe the greatest chapter in the Bible, as far as the spirit that we're supposed to have as Christians dealing with people. Romans chapter 12. Romans chapter 12, look at verse number 17. Look at verse number 17. Romans chapter 12, verse number 17, the Bible says, Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place under wrath for it is written vengeance is mine. I will repay saith the Lord. Now look, there's many applications here. But scorn applies. Okay, if you are a scorner, the Bible says, look, if you're getting scorned, God will repay. God will repay. Live peaceable as much as you can. God will repay. Because look at Matthew chapter 26 in verse number 52, when Peter cut the ear off of the servant of the Pharisees or the high priest. I mean, the Bible says, Jesus said, put your sword away. You know, I'm gonna paraphrase it, but he said, put your sword away because if you live by the sword, you're gonna die by the sword. He that taketh up the sword is gonna die that way. So the Bible is saying, look, you can do that, but it's gonna come back around to you. If you operate by scorn, that's how you're gonna go down by scorn. See, same thing. All right, look at Proverbs chapter nine. I mean, finish Romans chapter 12 in verse 20. He says, Don't remember, don't forget that one either. So it says when you don't repay scorn with scorn, you're gonna heat coals of fire on that person's head. And I'll explain that at the end of the sermon, but look, it says that, I mean, you want it. That's gonna drive them nuts if you don't reply with scorn. Look at Proverbs chapter nine. Verse number seven. The Bible says, So look, you're on the internet and you're like, this guy's wrong, and I'm just gonna, man, I'm gonna burn him. I'm gonna type this, and that will get him in front of everybody. The Bible says that all you're gonna get yourself is shame out of that. It's like, oh, you're just gonna get a blot out of that. So the answer is this. If you're a target, you're gonna get a blot out of that. So the answer is this. If you're a target of scorn in your life, look at verse number eight of Proverbs chapter nine. The Bible says, I mean, that's pretty clear, right? Reprove not a scorner. I mean, look, no one, do you know that no one has ever had their mind changed in the history of mankind by a YouTube comment or by a Facebook argument, whether it's over theology or whatever, you could be right. It doesn't even matter. It doesn't even matter. But don't reprove a scorner. I mean, look, the answer to scorn is silence. That's the answer. The answer is to not get into it with people. If there's a conflict with someone personally, you're to handle it biblically between you and that person. I mean, you're like, well, I was just taught to be passive aggressive. Well, you were taught wrong. So stop doing it, or you're gonna ruin the next generation. The worst thing is when you see the next generation, you see somebody's kids starting to act, just like they act. That's the worst thing. Because you're like, yeah, you know what? We're all in this church and we're trying to like make some 90, I mean, there's a lot of first generation Christians in this church. We're trying to make some 90 degree turns here in this church. You're just gonna like continue on the same path. You're gonna ruin the next generation. You're gonna drag them along with you. You're gonna create a bunch of, you know, passive aggressive little manipulators is what you're gonna do. Don't pass whatever messed up culture you came from onto your children. That's why you're supposed to listen to preaching and learn and change the way that you are. Romans 12, 18, as much as be possible, live peaceably with all men. And then Matthew 18 gives us the, you know, the method to resolve conflict. Don't be passive aggressive, you'll just be labeled rude and people won't wanna be around you. That's how it'll end for you. Talk to people directly and respectfully about your problems. Romans 12, you know, that's why Romans 12 is so great. It kinda gives us that spirit on how we're supposed to deal with people, with problems. I mean, look, you're gonna have, and you know, Romans 12, you know, we're supposed to suffer ourselves to be defrauded. I mean, if Brother Johannes doesn't really come my way and he's just like, you know, I don't like oranges. Tough. Then I'm just supposed to suffer myself to be defrauded. And I'm just gonna have to be like, you know what, he doesn't like oranges and I'm just gonna have to forgive him for that. It's a character flaw of his. That's just it. I forgive him. I'm not gonna, it's not gonna keep me up. We're supposed to suffer ourselves to be defrauded. We're supposed to be looking to de-escalate these situations, not escalate situations. Proverbs and elsewhere gives us direction on dealing with scorners. Don't reply. It's easy. Let it go. Let it go. And then you'll heap coals of fire on their head. I mean, that gives you some comfort, right? That you're heaping coals of fire. Because here's the thing. If you don't reply to people that are scorners, it'll drive them nuts. It'll drive them crazy. Because here's the thing. I've heard it put this way. Here's the thing about getting down in the mud with the pigs. Here's the thing about getting down in the mud with the pigs. You know what? The pigs like it. The pigs like it when you're down in the mud with them. They like it. Scorners enjoy and they feed off of people arguing with them. So just go silent. That's why David was like, just forget it. Just let him go. Just let him go. I mean, David had power to kill the guy. David even didn't even kill him when he came back. You say, I mean, so look. You say, well, a lot of times people don't respond to my comments on the internet or my comments that I send or whatever. Well, maybe they're just handling you because you're a scorner. Maybe they're, so people just, if people not responding to you is a common thing, maybe you should reflect on what you're writing, whether it be on the internet or Facebook or whatever. Look, so maybe you're the scorner in that case. Reflect like David did on himself. So at least from an action standpoint, we know that handling scorners is probably one of the easiest things we can do as far as actions that we need to take because your action is nothing. Just don't get in the mud with the pigs. Scorners gonna be scornin'. Let them scorn, all right? I mean, just let them go. That's why you won't see me on Facebook. You know, I mean, it's just full of immaturity. I mean, Facebook, I mean, this is my opinion here, okay? Don't get offended. It's for children and adults that act like children. That's what I've seen. I mean, I don't have the time for it. I mean, there's nothing good there. That's my opinion. There's nothing good there. You know, I mean, that's a sermon in itself. But the bottom line is, folks, scorners recognize it, avoid it, and just go silent on it. That's what the Bible teaches. And you know what, be like David. I mean, that shows really the power of David's heart here is he just took it. He not only went silent, but he used it as a moment to reflect on himself. I mean, you see David's heart here. You see David's heart. He uses it as a time to say, you know what? The reason that that guy is scorning me, he didn't just get in the flesh and get angry. He's like, don't react to it. Don't do anything. It's punishment for me. Because that's what God said. He used it as a reflection on himself. So, I mean, get whatever good you can out of situations, but don't get down in the mud with the pigs. All right? Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer.