Is "jerk" a theological category?

D. C. Cramer posted this comic on his blog last week:


I've been thinking about the category of "jerk" ever since. As we saunter through life, is God evaluating our "jerkiness" in addition to our practice of love, justice, and mercy? One of my junior high classmates had a tie-dyed t-shirt with what looked like a dictionary definition of "jerk" on the back. Being a compulsive reader, I read it. When I got to definition 4, I ran into the punch line: "People who read the back of other people's t-shirts." So I guess I'm a jerk by at least one person's standards.

I have a feeling that a lot of people read this comic and thought, "Take that, evangelicals! Jerks!" It's a sentiment that seems to be growing in popularity, and one that I'm not certain how to respond to. I guess it's easier for me to interact with criticism about beliefs or practices, but what do you say to someone who calls you a jerk, given that, like my classmate's t-shirt, that's a pretty jerky thing to do in itself.