Sarcasm spoken here.

"Surely you know, for you were born then, and the number of your days is great."

(Job 38:21)

Word play has always been a passion of mine. Song lyrics. Movie quotes. Puns. Lots of humor sprinkled into my language. It's just who I am. Oh yah, and sarcasm. I used to be quite the connoisseur of sarcasm. I was adept in general conversation. And at athletic events, I was the king (especially in relation to officiating).

There was, however, that ONE TIME I got in trouble for it. In fact, I got sent to my room. By my wife. As a full-grown adult. With kids.

One night around the dinner table (evidently after an especially hard day, personally), my elementary-aged son said something that got me annoyed. So being the kind, understanding, and loving father that I am... I pulled out my double-barreled sarcasm gun and let the bullets fly. It was a classic burn! And then I got sent to my room!

(NOTE: Later, I came out to apologize to my son, who had burst into tears upon being initially shredded by his dad. ugh. I have so much to learn!)

So sarcasm cans be a very dangerous weapon, when it's not wielded with love. But it also can be extremely effective in making a point. Such is the case in the book of Job.

Job was a faithful follower of God who had a TON of misfortune befall him. His "friends" tried to convince Job that he must have sinned (thus, the "bad luck"), but Job knew otherwise. He held our for God's explanation of WHY!?!? (We've all been there, haven't we?) Finally, in chapter 30, God answers Job. God starts questioning him about things that only God would know. And then in v.21, God drops the sarcasm bomb: "Surely you know, for you were born then, and the number of your days is great!"

Okay, God... point well taken. To borrow a phrase from Game of Thrones, "You know nothing, Job (Snow)!" But something inside of me smiled to know that God uses sarcasm. That tells me that God definitely has a sense of humor! Which is wonderful! God can relate to us in ways we totally get and understand. Like sarcasm.

Though sarcasm can be an effective tool, we humans must remember to use it wisely. :)