How many of us have ever said, "I was only joking"?  I am sure all of us have.  As Yahshua reminded told his disciples that they did not know what spirit they were of when they wanted to call down fire like Elijah, I will also remind us what spirit we are of.  Growing up, I was told that sarcasm has no place in the life of a Christian.  I thought that was a brash statement that had little validity.  However, as I matured and began to analyze my own interactions with people, I started to notice that my conversation did not always align with the Spirit of God inside me.  We are told to test the spirit always.  When I respond with a sarcastic joke, the majority of the time, the response is not made out of love, but root in distress and anger.  It may not always be noticable, but this is why we are given the scripture in Ephesians 5:4 that mentions love does not include "foolish talking , nor jesting, which are not convenient." They are not convenient to the work of Yahshua which is salvation.  When we think a conversation is playful, sometimes it can do more harm than good.  The work of Christ in us is to build others up and not tear them down.  The Holy Spirit led me to study the word "mock" in Ancient Hebrew when I was attempting to explain to my younger daughter why certain cartoons are not as innocent as they look.  Many jokes in today's society mock and scoff at many current events and even deride God's word.  At the time, I didn't have a solid case to easily explain why jokes were bad from a spiritual perspective.  Then I was directed to look at the work "Mock" H6711.  This word is Tsachaq, which means to joke, mock, play, laugh, and even scorn.  When viewed in the Ancient Hebrew, a deeper meaning is presented.  It is made three symbols, Tsade (Fallen Man), Chet (Wall/Separate), and Qof (Sunrise/Yahshua manifesting).  When I saw these pictographs together, the Father showed me how if certain jokes are a mockery that cause people to fall and hinders them from manifesting the Word of God in their life, which is Yahshua.  In other words, a simple joke can cause harm to the seed of God inside a person.  This is why Paul was instructed to tell the Church of Ephesians that they should remove certaini types of joking from their conversation because it is not rooted in love, but works against God.  Yet, do not confuse this with Proverbs 17:22 that "A joyful heart is good medicine." We are the Sons of God and we should be able to determine the spirit behind our words.  There is a big differences between laughing at and laughing with someone.  We are anointed to build up and not tear down.  Let our words continue to strengthen and edify those around us and be mindful of how powerful are words can be.  Amen.