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Snark-Stopping Advice
Quote me on this:
Sarcasm is the last resort of one who despairs of being heard.
I learned this the hard way – God convicted me of the sin of despair. What I thought was a way of giving humorous vent to ‘communication frustration’ was really the snarky voice of despair, which always leads to more sin. In this case, to the sin of voicing truth caustically, instead of ‘in love,’ as the Scriptures recommend.
Oh, and about that ‘truth’ I was telling so cleverly. True as it may be, ‘truth’ colored by despair is very likely to be a narrative skewed toward hopelessness. My sarcastic words became an anti-sacrament, conveying my own despair to the one at whom I aimed (yes, like a weapon, those witty, biting, snarled remarks of mine).
Memo to self:
If there is someone who cannot seem to hear me, I must turn to God for help finding new, loving, positive ways to communicated, or – at least – be quiet, without resentment. If their ‘cannot’ is really a ‘will not,’ that does not give me free rein to hit at them with sarcasm. And even if they do not seem to be bothered by my remarks, sarcasm is hurting our (already weak?) relationship. It is beneath my dignity, and hope is the way to prevent it.
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