John 1:46

"'Can anything good come out of Nazareth?'"

Sarcasm has a way peeling back all of the layers of the onion at one time. With a single and simple statement the core is immediately revealed. Perk up when such a jab is shot and penetrates with a barbed hook. But the one injured is not the intended party, for he that fired the arrow receives the more severe blow. The sender's heart is now exposed and the blood flows to places it was never designed. It's not as red as it should be.

I was recently accused of uttering a sarcastic remark. In my usual style, I became inwardly defensive. Then I became outwardly defensive and tried to justify my comment. Upon reflection I'm afraid the truth hurt. Defensiveness is usually a bellwether that there's a storm brewing in the heart. After examining my motives I finally came to my senses, loosed my pride, made a confession and asked for forgiveness. Unredeemed, the accuser and also the recipient of my apology placated and accepted, feeling as a though I had made a mountain out of the proverbial mole hill. Better to smash an imaginary mole hill than to one day find out it was a Mount Visuvius in the making.

Sarcasm has a way of biting back. It will usually turn it's head upon itself and devour the source. In the case of Nathanael, that was certainly so. And in my case? No difference whatsoever. I'm usually surprised, as no doubt was Nathanael, when I find out that what I thought was truth, uttered with confidence from my lips, is an untruth. "Can anything" (exaggeration and sarcasm are two peas in a pod) "good come out of Nazareth?", asked Nathanael. Not only good, but the Good. Much to his pleasant surprise did he discover that heart reversals come not only with embarrassment, but healing.

There's a lot of embarrassment that I need to experience, and a lot of healing too. I hope that every sarcastic remark I ever speak, or even think, will expose my sin and cause me to see good, the Good, as the great giver and healer.