Be Careful what you Uncover!

(A thought about Impractical Jokes)

Be Careful what you Uncover!

Gen. 9:22, 24, “And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without…  And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.”

The thought came to me that Ham may have (emphasis on may) done more than just see his father lying naked in a drunken stupor; he may have actually uncovered him himself, as a practical joke, and then exposed the sordid scene to his brothers.  Hence Noah’s reaction to what his son had done to him.  You could say that Ham was “hamming it up!”  Just joking around!  But, realizing the disrespect and irreverence of Ham’s practical joke, his more sober brothers wisely covered their dad and ended the joke.  But it was already too late. 

When Noah woke up from his drunken stupor he was so demoralized by the disrespect shown him in his vulnerable state, he cursed Ham and cut him off from his inheritance.  Noah’s stupidity in getting drunk is beside the point.  His subsequent embarrassment over being exposed by his son’s foolish prank, and his infuriated retaliation that ruined the boy’s life, is precisely the point.  Could all this evil be the result of a practical joke?

Practical jokes are hilarious when they are funny in an innocent and harmless way.  But, that’s never the case when they are immoral or dangerous.  Many lives have been lost, reputations ruined, and relationships destroyed over ill conceived and immoral practical jokes.  A prank that demoralizes is evil, and that’s neither funny nor practical.  Solomon said in Prov. 26:18-19, Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death, is the man who deceives his neighbor, And says, "I was only joking!" NKJV So, here’s some good advice: the next time you play a practical joke on someone, be careful what you uncover.