Are you Easily Offended?





Are you Easily Offended?

I began my day reading in Matthews Gospel chapter 16 thru 18 and noted as Jesus was preparing his disciples by telling them he was soon to suffer many things from the religious leaders and be killed, but He would rise on the third day; These words did not set too well with the disciples and Peter took him aside and rebuked Jesus telling him that he should not be saying things like that. Jesus responded by saying, “Get behind me satan, for you are an offense to me, because you are not mindful of the things of God, but are merely thinking as a natural man.

A few days later, they were in the temple and those who received the temple tax asked Peter if his master paid taxes? Peter replied “yes,” Jesus said to Peter, lest we offend them, go to the sea and catch a fish and in its mouth will be a coin, take it and pay tax for you and for me.

The next day, the disciples asked Jesus, who will be the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven? Jesus called a little child to him, and said, Assuredly I say to you, unless you become as little children, and humble yourself, you will in no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Jesus went on to say; who ever receives a little child like this, receives me. But who ever causes one of these little ones, who believes in me to sin; It would be better for him to have a mill stone tied on his neck and drowned in the deepest sea. Woe to the world because of offenses! For offences will come, but woe to the one by which the offense comes.

So we are dealing with offence and being offended. Some things offend God as we spoke recently about the things God hates.

The Spirit of Offense is a form of Self Righteousness; “I’m right and you are wrong…” How many times have we felt that way?  (People get their feelings hurt and they are angry, because they believe they are right and you are wrong.)

The Pharisees and Sadducees of Jesus’s day were extremely self-righteous and they were offended by Jesus left and right. (Matthew 15:12)

It is said in Isaiah 64:6 that self-righteousness to God is the equivalent to filthy rags.

We read in Proverbs 18:19 “A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like the bars of a castle.”

In the church, some get offended because they refuse sound doctrine; Matthew 24:10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.

Forgiveness - - Is one of the powerful things we can do when offended. A good part of the time offense is just a misunderstanding or accident. Sometimes a person didn’t mean to offend you. Let it go and forgive.  Now if the person or people were being intentional about causing to offend you … then still you need to forgive them.
No matter what - -you have to bring it to Jesus and let go of your offense. And ask God to forgive you for being offended. Forgiveness breaks the power of offense.
Remind yourself that you are not always right or perfect either and that you have probably done the same to others. You don’t have it all together and you should be patient and kind to others no matter where they are at in life. 
Forgiveness and humbling yourself go hand and hand.
Okay, this may sound the dumbest thing you have ever heard, but you can choose to become Un-offendable. Offence joins with anger and feelings of entitlement to be justified to feel angry and hold offence.
Anger will happen, we are all human, however have you arrived at the place where your flesh has been crucified and you died and became a new creature in Christ? A dead person will never be offended, or angry, but the new person will operate in love and forgiveness.
As we prepare to pray over our city, we realize that many of our citizens have been offended by truth. Someone in the church hurt their feelings, and they have turned away from serving God. As we pray we charge the hound of heaven to chase after our citizens who are suffering defeat because of offense. God is not willing that any of our citizens perish, and his desire is that they come to repentance, and receive Jesus into their life and serve Him only.
Some of the thoughts for this message were gleaned from a teaching by Melissa Tumino
You might be interested in a book I am reading: UN OFFENDABLE by Brant Hansen


 


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