Sarcasm Aside

Brothers and sisters,
Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do,
do everything for the glory of God.
Avoid giving offense, whether to the Jews or Greeks or 
the church of God,
just as I try to please everyone in every way,
not seeking my own benefit but that of the many,
that they may be saved.
Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. - 1 Cor 10:31—11:1

This morning I read the above Second Reading as I prepared for Mass. And it hit me that I had earlier that morning already posted some sarcastic tweets and messages on Facebook that would likely give offense, and were, indeed, intended to give offense.

Indeed, I did so before I read God's word. I was serving a different master.

I went to Twitter and Facebook and deleted them and one I posted last night.

Humor and satire are fine, but sarcasm, especially mean-spirited sarcasm, and abrasive remarks are not acceptable. I tend to use sarcasm in comments and even clerihews - a poetic form that is by definition not supposed to be mean-spirited.

This is one of my sins, one of my great failings.

How many people have i hurt over the years? How many relationships have I undermined? How many people have I driven away from me or from the otherwise positive message I was supposedly trying to convey, and so made it harder for them to be saved?

One of the things I need to do this Lent as I'm away from social media is to try to develop a gentler, less abrasive way to deal with people. 

I need to "do everything for the glory of God," and not for my own ego..

Pax et bonum