oh, but I was only being sarcastic….

Most people will tell you, up until several months ago, I wasn’t a sarcastic person.

In fact, I hated sarcasm so much that I had a hard time being friends with people who were very sarcastic. I never knew how to respond to it, and it was hard for me to get close to people who incorporated it into their daily conversations.

Flash forward to April, 2014.

Not only have I become fluent in sarcasm, but recently I have unintentionally pained several dear (incredibly strong and not at all sensitive) women because of it.

They each had the courage to come to me and tell me that I had hurt them.

So what happened?

The Internet.

As much as I would looove to say that I’m not often on social media, that would be a lie. You can see how much I’m on it by how it influences my speech.

It’s one thing to see dozens of sarcastic text posts on the Internet if they aren’t directed at one person. But slowly if you say enough snarky words to one person, no matter how strong the person is, it’ll start to sting.

I don’t want to put all of the blame on the Internet, because that wouldn’t be entirely true. The other parts of it were solely because I just wanted to be able to be rude to people without having to apologize.

I wish that wasn’t true…it sounds awful.

It is.

I mean, think about it. That’s what sarcasm IS for the most part though, right? Cutting other people down, and it being socially accepted not to apologize because you’re “just kidding.”

How disgusting.

As Christians, shouldn’t that be everything we’re against?

We are called to speak words that are “pure and honorable and lovely” (Phill) Not words that make others feel like garbage and insult them.

As a Christian, my goal is Christ. He is everything that I strive to be.

Christ was patient.
compassionate
kind
loving
gentle
righteous
merciful
holy
forgiving

If my speech is constantly tainted by sarcasm, there leaves little room for compassion and love.

So I’m here to apologize.

I’m sorry if I have said something that might have gotten a laugh, but made you feel insecure.

I’m sorry if I have cut you down or made you feel worthless.

“Ok, Lyndsea. I get that you’re sorry. What are you going to do to make sure that this doesn’t happen anymore?”

I’m going to unfollow all text post accounts on Instagram, so that sarcasm will stop showing up on my feed. It’s a step literally, but also metaphorically. I’m putting an end to it. All of it. (I’m still super dramatic like that. Working on not being so dramatic. A little. Not really?)

And I think sarcasm is okay in small doses. But when it comes to it being in every sentence, that’s when it’s a problem.

I hope this encourages you if you have been struggling with sarcasm, because I know from speaking with others I’m not the only one! 😉