Sarcy

Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. Colossians4:6NIV

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. Ephesians4:29NIV

I need to nail something down. Right now. My Scottish culture almost demands that you are sarcastic, and the more sarcastic you can be, the better. To soften the barbs, we find it goes by other names like, ‘a bit of fun’, ‘banter’, ‘harmless chatter’, ‘inoffensive laughs’ and the favourite, ‘everybody does it’. It doesn’t sound so bad like that, does it? However, sometimes it feels like a competition and I’m getting tired of it.

The little brother of sarcasm is irony, and there is a better place in our language for that, than for being sarcastic. Let me throw a lifeline. Done well, sarcasm can be very funny and more so when no one is affected personally. Scottish menfolk are not good at light sarcasm. It has to be full bore or not at all. In fact, the more personal you can make your sarcastic comments, that would seem to work for many. Because this is a cultural failure, the ailment has seeped into the church, and good Christians have become quite adept at the ‘art’. Social media is a favourite gallery to display your prowess’.

I wonder how Jesus views our conversations? We do have good evidence that God would prefer we didn’t sink to that level as seen in the two verses above. There are many more taken in context which would support this.

The ground has been pierced by my sword from here on. I cannot do anything to stop my friends being who they are, or holding to this kind of so called humour, but I can exert some pressure to change myself, from the inside. So, when addressed in sarcasm, whether personally or aimed at another, I will not react or respond. For my own part, it dies right there. I feel I have been here before, but each time I backslide, the worse the error of my sarcasm becomes. Is my target too high, and perhaps unattainable? I hope not because I don’t like myself when I slide back, even a little.

Sarcasm defined by the Cambridge English Dictionary: “The use of remarks that clearly mean the opposite of what they say, made in order to hurt someone's feelings or to criticize something in a humorous way.” Or how about this definition?: “the use of irony to mock or convey contempt.” ...and still the answer comes back, “..it’s only a bit of banter, a bit of fun!” Somehow I don’t see my culture changing anytime soon!

Wit

It’s the lowest form of wit, and used far too much in the West of Scotland in my opinion. It is seen as funny but only by those who are dishing it out, and always at the expense of another. One of the side effects of this kind of wit, is that the usual way of responding is to be as sarcastic in return. No one wins, and it is a vicious cycle which is difficult to break.

Being sarcastic can be humourous in a one way direction, but happily only ever used by those who don’t know any better, those same people who don’t like getting it back. I mean a Christian would never use it, never mind a minister, would they? This is where I have to confess to having a short fuse when it comes to sarcasm, no matter whose mouth it comes from, and lately I have been very shocked to learn that it can be used by some of the very people I expect to be above it. Christian leaders, or ministers also seem to think they are being funny, and trust me, they are not.

There are some things which would be top of your list of things to expect from a senior church figure or pastor, but I reckon sarcasm would not be one of them. After all, that would be a no-no, right? So the danger is that you only find out after the damage has been done. The fine reputation that goes before a Christian leader and preacher could be so easily lost when he opens his mouth and tries to be funny in the only way he knows how. Disaster and a loss of respect is certain. Another thing, the word is too close to ‘sar-caustic’ for my liking.

Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. Ephesians 5:4 NIV