Luke 17: 1-2 (NKJV)
“Then He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.”
Matthew 11: 1–6 (NKJV)
“Now it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, that He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities.
And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to Him, 'Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?'
Jesus answered and said to them, 'Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.'”
So long as we are still breathing offenses will come, whether we like it or not, whether we are expecting them or not. Our part is to work at making sure we are not the author of those offenses, deliberately or simply by being careless. God does not want us to be those who cause pain where pain could have been avoided. It is so easy to cause offence and pain through our words, actions, inactions and even our attitudes. We can bring judgement upon ourselves when we mindlessly cause offence and pain to others. So we need to be careful and mindful of others.
On the other side of the coin we need to work at not becoming easily offended. It is so easy to be offended in our times of challenge, pressure and difficulty. We can fall into offence with God like John the Baptist did, and with others too. Our being offended with God does not change who He is. He is forever good, He is forever powerful. When we take offence, relationships are strained and sometimes broken. Unforgiveness fills our hearts, we become bitter and thereby defiled. Our relationship with Our Father in heaven and the Holy Spirit is affected. We lose our peace and our joy. So the bottom line is it is pointless.
Precious sisters, this week let’s watch and pray, seek the help of the Holy Spirit so we don’t give rise to offense and pain in others. Let’s on the other hand not be overly sensitive to the motives, words, actions, inactions, and attitudes of others that we get offended easily. Abundant grace to you.