Easily Offended

Who’s fault is it?

One of the greatest challenges we all face in life is offenses. Even Jesus said in Matthew 18:7 that offenses would come, but just make certain they don’t come through you (my paraphrase). Life is filled with opportunities to be offended. Every day, we run across family and friends, co-workers and strangers that say or do something that has the potential of offending us.

Sometimes those offenses build up to where we’re walking around with a big chip on our shoulder just waiting for someone to cross the line… easily provoked, touchy, discontent and frustrated. Our families are walking around on egg shells in fear of that one word, that one gesture or look that will set you off into a tailspin of verbal abuse.

What is the challenge? Is it what people say or do? Is it that things don’t go our way? Is it that the day or drive or something else insignificant didn’t go as we had planned? I submit to you that, in reality, it’s none of those things.

It’s not your spouse, your children, the economy or your personal finances, the political climate, your work environment, or the war in Iraq, but it’s YOU. You, my dear friend, are at the heart of the problem.

The problem of the heart is always the heart of the problem. You know, most of us live as professing Christians but practicing Atheists. We say we believe our God is large and in charge, but every time a problem comes our way, we act as if Jesus is still in the tomb. We act as if the Holy Spirit is resident in us for all of those sad times we go through in life, but not in our daily struggles.

What is faith?

Certainly He is there to comfort us in our time of need, but He lives in us for so much more—for life and life more abundant, and to empower us to overcome our flesh and live according to the Word He breathed. Not in a legalistic way but by grace through faith. Faith seems to be assigned to the big struggles in our life but not the everyday confrontations.

Dear friend, it is always the “little” foxes that spoil the tender grapes in life. We seem to do pretty well with the big predators, but it’s those little annoying problems we face on a daily basis that seem to defeat us. So let me give you a great working definition of faith.

“Faith is an act of man on the revealed truth of God that converts the doctrine of the Bible into reality.” God wants his truth to be manifest through you and me every day in every way.

Great Peace

The point of this short article is to ask the Father to reinforce to all of us Psalms 119:165, “Great peace have they that love thy law and NOTHING [my emphasis] shall offend them.” What offends you? What upsets you? What bothers you to the point of frustration? If we are walking in the Spirit when offenses come, we will respond to God and not react to the offense. But if we don’t, then God will allow us to keep being offended until we become un-offend-able. Why? Because He doesn’t want us to be filled with offenses, but instead filled with His peace, love, and joy.

There was NO offense found in Jesus when the enemy looked at His life.

Christ wants the same for you and me. So the next time you get touchy or offended, realize it’s because you’re not walking in His peace. If you were, NOTHING would offend you. When we’re loving and living within the confines of His word, we will have great peace and rest, and nothing shall offend us. We’ll stop being anxious and frustrated and, instead, we’ll live in His joy. Then and only then will we be a joy to be around.

The Bottom Line

One more suggestion… It may serve us well to resign as the General Manager of the Universe and leave all of that up to God. And that’s the bottom line.

How about you? Have you noticed times that you have been easily offended? What did you do to change? How did you handle it? Let me know in the comments below.