Skip to main content

No Offense!


There is no good offense

Jesus warned of offenses. In (Matthew 18:7) He said, “Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!”

Unlike the game strategies of football there is no such thing as a good offense when we are talking about human relations, and the discipline of being a Christian. Being an offense to someone, or the act of offending someone is wrong and hurtful, and it has the potential power of being devastating to the human spirit. Offending another person is most importantly sinful; this is why Jesus warned us not to be offensive to others.

Unfortunately, our world today encourages us to “get-in-front-of,” “out maneuver,” or to get ahead of others, sometimes at all costs. Why is this I wonder? Maybe it’s because we have been taught we deserve the best parking place, the bigger house, the fancier car or the highest paying job; even if we have to offend the other guy to get what we want…well, that’s life (or so we are led to believe.) Not so!

In (Philippians 1:9-11) the apostle Paul says, “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

We offend others when we ignore them, when we trivialize something they may say, when we fail to recognize their efforts to please us. We offend others when we criticize them. Our offense toward others may be intentional or unintentional, but when we are less than considerate of our friends, neighbors or family members, or we go out of our way to disrespect others we are guilty of having an offensive behavior.

I know none of us would want to offend God. Fortunately, His grace saves us. If we believe we have offended Him or someone else we can ask God to forgive us and repent of our sinful behavior. When we do, God is always faithful to forgive us.

Truth is; if we love and respect others we won’t want to offend them. Haven’t we been given commandments to love and respect all others, even our enemies?

When one of the Scribes confronted Jesus on the first commandment, Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is; ‘Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:30, 31).

Love and the desire to offend can never occupy the same heart.

Popular posts from this blog

By His Authority

God has given His authority. God’s plan for authority has been given to His people: authority in the church (1 Peter 5:1-2) which says, “shepherd the flock of God which is among you;” authority in the home (Colossians 3:18-25,) “Wives submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord, as is fitting in the Lord;” authority in your workplace (Ephesians 6:5-9) “Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters…; and authority in civil government (Romans    13:1-7) “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God….” Authority as planned by God seems awkward and unfitting in today’s societies – not that His plan is inappropriate, certainly this is not true. It is more that people have deviated from God’s plan to what seems more suited to their personal lives for whatever reasons they justify. It is it any wonder we have dysfunctional families, government and na...
Post a Comment
Read more

Apostates Predicted

Sensual persons who cause divisions   I quote from the Book of Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, who was addressing those who were called , sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ. In verses 16 through 19, Jude warned of apostates who would come around and make themselves known. He described them as grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts , to use Jude’s own words. He went on to describe them as those who would be mouthing swelling words, flattering to gain advantage . Jude continued saying, “But you beloved, remember the words which were spoken before the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: how they told you there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. Fast-forward now to today; to our present time, the year 2012. How is this book (Jude) of very few words; the little book which precedes the last book of the Bible; Revelation relevant to our (contemporary...
Read more

God never changes who He is

The popular cry of the people here in America today is for “change.” Yet in some parts of the world there are those who use all means, including terrorism to resist it. There are some people who are determined to leave ancient traditions, and often times, corruptible governments just as they are, and have been for hundreds of thousands of years. Many of these nations do not recognize God. God is always the same; today, tomorrow, and forever. He never changes; this knowledge about Him enables us to have total reliability in Him. His character is as follows: God is omnipotent . All power is His, and nothing is beyond His control. He enforces His perfect will. He is unstoppable by any force in heaven or on earth! God is omnipresent. He is everywhere imaginable and unimaginable all at the same time! No person or place is beyond His presence. Space and time are before Him always. He determines everything for all places and all persons. God is omniscient. All that is happening to all ...
Post a Comment
Read more