WHICH OF US is not guilty of cutting other people down just for the laughs…?

We enjoy our biting sarcasm and our abilities to ridicule, our stinging quips, our sharp put-downs. The best humor, of course, is joking at our own expense. But we pass up this healthful humor to be thought witty in our daily give-and-take banter. We miss opportunities to encourage others so we can build up our reputations for cleverness.

In an ironic and cynical age, all of us fall into patterns of insult and derision. Mocking the mighty above us or the miserable beneath us becomes a popular sport. With a wisecrack, we betray. Only a thorough sense of our own sinfulness keeps us from taking others too lightly and ourselves too seriously. Beware of the man who can’t laugh at himself. Howard E. Butt, Jr.

“Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather give thanks.” Ephesians 5:4

–Mike Benson