Last week at the Oscars a well-regarded celebrity(Will Smith) lost their cool and slapped another well-known celebrity(Chris Rock) over a joke that was perceived as being offensive. The whole world chipped in with their opinions over what happened. Many took sides and argued over who was right and who was wrong. Why did this shake up the whole world? Was it real? Was it scripted? Whatever it was, the way the whole thing played out, broadcasted live around the whole world, made everyone question the morality behind the whole situation.

When it comes to matters of morality, the gold standard is the bible. So if we were to judge the whole event according to the moral compass of the bible what would be the result? What does the bible say about joking and making fun of others? Proverbs 26:18-19 says “Like a maniac shooting flaming arrows of death, is one who deceives their neighbor and says, “I was only joking!” From this verse, the Bible makes it very clear that is it always dangerous when we make jokes about people as you never know what trouble it might get us into. Ephesians 5:4 says” Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving”. Making jokes about someone and especially their appearance without fully knowing what they are going through is better just to avoid altogether as Chris Rock found out the hard way. It would have been much better to say encouraging and uplifting words instead.

What does the bible say about slapping someone and losing your temper? Psalm 37:8 says “Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret, it leads only to evil,” Ephesians 4:26-27 says “In your anger do not sin” Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.” From these verses, the Bible makes it clear that giving in to anger never produces anything good. Not only are you going to do something that you will regret but it also gives the devil a chance to get into your life. Slapping someone for any reason means that you gave in to your anger and like the bible says it only ends up leading to something bad, just as Will Smith found out.  It is always better to take the high road and keep yourself calm.

Now, what happens when someone actually slaps you, how do you react? Well, let us just say the way Chris Rock reacted to getting slapped in front of the whole world was close to what Jesus said about reacting to getting slapped. Jesus said in Luke 6:29 “If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also.” It sounds crazy that we should just offer the other cheek and do nothing when we get slapped but in most cases, this is the best way to escalate the issue. Why reply to violence with more violence? Where is that going to lead to anyway? Jesus himself was slapped by other people for no fault of his own as we see in John 18:22 “When Jesus said this, one of the officials nearby slapped him in the face” and then again in John 19:3 “and they went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they slapped him in the face” In both instances, Jesus did not react by resorting to violence and simply took the pain of the slap instead.

In conclusion what happened at the Oscars last weekend could have happened to anyone, even seasoned Christians. We are all sinful beings living in a sinful world and the chances that we give in to our emotions and do something irrational is very high. This is why our fallen world needs Jesus Christ. No person in this world is free from sin. We can sin at any time, at any place, even on live tv at the Oscars, it doesn’t matter, we are all fallen human beings with the capacity to sin. So before we take sides and judge those involved in this incident let us remember Matthew 7:1-2 which says “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” The right way to deal with this incident is not to take sides or judge the individuals that were involved in the incident but to understand that this is just the result of living in a sinful world. We all sin and do things we regret and the only person who can save us from our sin is Jesus Christ!