One Day at a Time in Al-Anon:
Among the many weapons we use to castigate the alcoholic or other people we disapprove of is sarcasm. True, it relieves our pent-up feelings, and if our remarks are really pointed, gives us a certain satisfaction.
Repugnant as it is in itself, sarcasm becomes even more distasteful when we find it comes from the Greek verb “sarcazo.” which means to tear flesh. It is that form of irony in which the speaker is motivated by scorn.
If I have ever used this weapon against the troubled drinker, I promise myself not to do it again. I have no right to scorn anyone, since I can never know what creates the need to behave as they do.
Today’s Reminder:
I will make an effort to blend gentleness with firmness, to add a note of harmony to my relations with others instead of tearing and destroying. I will realize that the wounds made by sarcasm are slow to heal, and may defer the longed-for improvement in my life.
“A scorner seeketh wisdom and findeth it not. He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding.” — Proverbs