Proverbs 14:9 - Meaning and Application

Here we see, first, how wicked people grow hardened in their sin: they mock at sin. They laugh at the sins of others, and make fun of what they ought to grieve over. They also treat their own sins as small things, both when they are tempted and after they have fallen into them. They call evil good and good evil (Isaiah 5:20), brush sin aside with a joke, rush ahead into it (Jeremiah 8:6), and act as if all will be well anyway.

They do not care what harm their sins do, and they laugh at those who warn them. They defend sin and are quick to invent excuses for it. Some take this to mean they make a joke of the sin offering, and that fits as well: those who treat sin lightly also treat Christ lightly. They are fools, because they make light of what God complains about (Amos 2:13), what laid heavy on Christ, and what they will soon think about very differently.

Second, we see how good people are helped in doing good. Among the righteous there is favor. If they do wrong in anything, they quickly repent and receive God’s favor again. They also have goodwill toward one another. In their fellowship, there is mutual love and compassion when offenses happen, and no mocking.