Greetings Dear Reader,
When I was younger, I could make a sound by sucking air
between my cheek and gum that would cause mockingbirds to dive at me and warn
me away. My oldest Son, then age eight,
would laugh saying that I was mocking the mockingbirds. It was a great opportunity to teach the necessary
lessons about not mocking others.
In social media, it is common to see people mock others over
social and political issues. We mock
those who make mistakes or misspeak.
When circumstances cause embarrassment for others, we dine on their
misfortune for our own entertainment. We
jokingly mock those who hold political, social, and religious positions that
are different than ours without questioning our motives. We insist that we are only joking. Those “jokes”
may seem funny but they are not nested in love for others.
It seems that we have lost our understanding of how we
should not mock others. Mockery is, at
its heart unkind and unloving. It camouflages,
poorly, the anger we have over an issue or with the target of our mockery. Since our anger is never supposed to live
past the day, if we practice mockery, we are carrying anger with us. This is too great a burden for us to bear. The anger that causes us to mock others harms
us.
At the heart of mockery is anger and perhaps even
hatred. Jesus equated hatred with
murder. Let that hold space in your
thinking for a moment. If I am to follow
Christ with all that I am, I must not mock anyone. I must not joke at the errors or misfortunes
of others. Using differences as cannon
fodder never leads to peace.
Mockery can also be a tool in our quest to be lovingly
unoffendable. When others mock us, we
can choose to be untouched by it. We can
decide ahead of time that those who mock us have allowed their anger to fester. Our response to mockery can be love and
kindness; grace and mercy. We can seek
to understand the source of our anger. We
can humbly take the opportunity to be good to those who despitefully use us.
When there is mockery, whether it is ours or theirs, it is
an excellent check engine light for the situation. If I am the mocker, I need to set aside my
anger and be more loving. I need to not
justify it as a joke or with getting others to mock with me. If I am being mocked, I need to seek to
understand the needs of those mocking me.
I need to receive their actions with love and peace. I need to return love for hatred.
The impact of our mockery may never be known to us. We will offend if we mock publicly. We may harm and weaken our ability to represent
Christ. It is not following Christ to
mock others. I must only communicate
love and kindness. I must use my desire
to mock as a check engine light to my anger and attitude. We can find humor elsewhere that is healthy
and good, Dear Reader.
Wishing you joy in the journey,
Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every
writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a
homeowner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure
store.”
(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Every human story is part of the great story that leads
to the Father getting everything back to Good.
Contacts for Aramis
Thorn:
#aramisthorn
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