4:63 – Did I Offend You?

#faithbites #faithjourney offend

Setting

Dr. Suess. Aunt Jemima. Civil War Statues. Building Names. Books. TV Shows. What do these have in common? Someone is offended by something that someone else things is ok. My Facebook feed is filled with outrage on why something is banned or why a company changes their business practices (changing names, removing items). One even said, “well only a specific group doesn’t like it”. My favorite was, “we group up with it and we turned out ok”. But I digress. What does it mean to be offended by something? If you aren’t offended does it mean it’s not offensive?

Today’s questions: How do you handle things that are offensive to you? How can you reduce the likelihood of offending someone? What role does our faith play in how we perceive the world?

Scripture

• Ecclesiastes 7:21-22 – Do not take to heart all the things that people say, lest you hear your servant cursing you. Your heart knows that many times you yourself have cursed others.
• Proverbs 19:11 – Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.
• Psalm 82:3-4 – Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

Reflection

It’s easy to listen to what everyone says and get offended. Someone is always saying something that you don’t agree with. God’s word helps us see that we shouldn’t take to heart what people say. As others have curses us, we have cursed them. Sure, no one wants admit they were offensive or rude. I will. I’ve done it a lot and am sorry. The key is how we deal with it. Can we be slow to anger? How can we work and live with a person who has offended us?

On the flip side, can something be offensive to someone if it doesn’t offend you? Is it not offensive if it only impacts one group? In Psalm 82, we see that we should give justice to the weak. We should rescue them and deliver them from the wicked. If one group is offended and hurt, we as brothers and sisters in Christ should help them. Our first response shouldn’t be to shout “Cancel Culture” or it’s not that big of a deal It should be, I’m sorry I offended you or that offended you. Why did it offend? What can we do to fix it? These are the questions we should be asking ourselves as we defend those who were offended.

As we close, we need to realize two things. There will always be offensive material in life, we can’t avoid it. We just need to not take it to hard. Second, we should fight for those who are hurt even if we are not. That’s our role in the family of Christ.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, it seems like everyday there is something to be offended about or someone getting offended. Help us to not listen to those who want ot hurt us. Help us not to take offense to what they said. We also ask for you to give us the strength to fight for those who are weak, offended, and hurt. Let us be your champions here on earth and fight for justice for and with them as opposed to saying it’s not a big deal. We pray for all this in your name, Amen.