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

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

Two Kinds of Wisdom

That which is earthly, and that which is heavenly The Bible speaks of us being exposed to two kinds of wisdom; one that subjects us to bitterness, envy and selfish ambition, e.g. earthly wisdom , and that which comes from heaven which is first of all pure; peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. In (James 3:13) this servant of God, asked , “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.” Which form of wisdom will you profess; that which is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil or that which is of heaven? At the time of Jesus’ birth, three wise men from the east came to Jerusalem seeking the one who was now born King of the Jews . King Herod called upon these three to “Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” he said in; (Matthew 2:8) -- the three wise men were told by He...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Promise is a Promise

When you were a child did your parents ever promise to take you somewhere special for your birthday? Maybe they promised you could stay up late with them the night of your birthday? You never doubted their promises did you? I mean, a promise is a promise. If they told you they were going to do something you just knew it was going to happen! I remember how excited I was when my parents promised me something and they gave it to me!  I’ll never forget how I trusted them. Neither can I forget the promises God has made and kept for me in my lifetime. He has always been faithful to deliver what He has promised to me. Sometimes the evil one tries to convince me God hasn’t delivered though. He tries to convince me God changes His mind. Its times like this that I will to remain strong. I read what God says and declare how great my God is! Just because we don’t see His fulfillment according to our understanding at that particular time does not mean He hasn’t done it or isn’t going to do ...
Post a Comment
Read more