Proverbs 18;19
A brother offended is harder to win than a strong city, and contentions are like the bars of a castle.

Yesterday’s Bible Study was about being careful with our words, being a lady with integrity where we mean what we say, but we are not out to just vomit words all over others not caring what affect it has on them. Now today I want to talk to you about “being offended”. While we watch how we treat others and watch our words, we also need to be careful that we are not just looking for something to offend us.

Don’t wear your feelings on your sleeve! We should really be difficult to offend if our minds are focused on God. Have you ever been around someone that you have to be so careful what you say for fear of offending them that you hardly know how to carry on a conversation with them? It can be very uncomfortable. Who wants to be that lady that when others see you coming everyone else wants to hide for fear they will accidentally say something and you will get offended and then the whole “world” will hear about how “so and so said thus and such and they were just trying to be hateful.” This may sound like a trivial issue, but seriously ladies, this really is a problem when I see it everywhere lately. The latest one that I seem to hear all the time is “well, I can’t talk to him/her because well, they just always seem to ‘one up’ my stories and it just annoys me.” I’m sorry but just how important was that story, will it make a difference a week from now? The funny thing is that as I travel I see how in some parts of the country, that is how people relate to each other when they first meet. They are not trying to one up each others stories, they are trying to find common ground and similarities because they want to be friends, so maybe that other person isn’t trying to ‘one up’ your story, they are trying to get to know you and allow you to get to know them so you can have a better understanding of each other. And seriously, is that story going to make a difference in your life two weeks from now or will you have forgotten it?

Here in the U.S. we really have it so much better than we think so we have more time to be offended apparently. Think about the people living in Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Africa and Israel right now. Do you think they have time to be easily offended? Do you think as those people who are sitting on top of that mountain with no food and water, knowing if they go down the mountain they will be killed for their belief in God care if someone else ‘one ups’ their story? Their feelings of being offended are about being told that they will be killed if they don’t renounce their faith in God! That is something to get offended about! If you want to get offended look for those things that offend God, like abortion, Christians around the world being killed for their faith and other offenses against God.

I am not saying you never have a right to be offended, I am just saying it shouldn’t be so easy to offend you that you are difficult to talk with. Focus on God and ask Him to help you focus on what is truly important so you can fully be used by Him. Let some of those offenses roll off and move on to something more important. Trust me, I have had many people say many things that have hurt deeply, but I am continuously learning to let it go so I am not consumed by something that really doesn’t matter in the bigger scheme of things! It is a constant choice whether or not to allow those hurt feelings to fester until you become bitter toward that other person or not. Give it all to God today, ask Him to help you become all you can be for Him and don’t allow Satan to get you off track with something that really isn’t going to matter a year from now! God loves you and the best is yet to come!

Quote:
“It’s not the things you get but the hearts you touch that will determine your success in life.” Simple Truths