Who Offends You? Who Are You Offending?

Who Offends You? Who Are You Offending?                                              By Kelly Durant

Matthew 11:5 The blind receive their sight, 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. 6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me

2. How many of you have ever watched the TV shows of real life recordings that are supposed to be the funniest home videos of people falling down, crashing, getting hurt, and just doing stupid things that make you wonder how can people be so stupid? I know I have laughed when I have seen some kid skate board off the roof of his house but later there is that second thought, did he have to go to the hospital over several broken bones? How many of you have ever thought that? At first it is funny, but later you realize that person might have become crippled for life!

You can tell a lot about the character of a person by what incites their laughter! And what about their disgust, when they are offended? Seeing someone’s dumb mistakes may cause you to laugh but it may also cause you to feel serious pity for them knowing that they live with no common sense! Have you even internally evaluated what you consider to be funny and why? Is it really that funny if someone is getting seriously hurt? Did you know some comedians are being cancelled in various places because people are coming out protesting more and more with the “I am offended by this” complaint.  

Wanting life to always be fun and funny is not a reality but many try to live it that way. There are real pains in life. Today too many people want everything in life to be a cyberspace otherworldly drama so they do not face their own pains or the broken-ness of their world. Some want to be the life of the party always funny (in their mind), adding something spicy, rude, or offensive. Some people as well get pleasure always creating a controversy or problem out of something that should not be a big deal and the pity is… we are the dumb ones allowing ourselves to be entertained by people ranting over what offended them nonsense.

3.  How do you describe a person who gets pleasure and laughter from seeing your pain? Are they not a psycho, an arrogant fool, or even a demon? Do we not see a lot of mockers out there in the world? Aren’t there too many people around who with words mock, criticize, and stab you and me making cruel fun? (And mockers run their mouths not knowing anything about the situation either) I find no laughter or pleasure from those who undeservingly belittle another.

We need to analyze ourselves, have we been preconditioned to always think we need to be funny or controversial to be social and accepted? Even worse by observing Facebook, twitter, Instagram, and all the general social media, I find that it is appalling how many people have nothing else to do but spend all their time mocking, condemning, hating, and openly  offending others over anything.  Faith, flags, politics, people and anything is open for attack! Aggression, anger, mockery, hate, and persecution are increasing in the world because the wimp bullies have the ability to hide behind a false cyber name, never having a serious debate with the ones they are offending! They attack and do damage and then hide! Our media world is broken; there is no justice or debate and slander, insults, offenses, and foolish babble constitutes the new climate in which we live in.

 Jude 1:18 “How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.”  Those that mock, that make fun of others, that laugh at others discomfort and pain, that disrespect a person of God, ones that do not control their tongues, are not just offending people, they are offending God! They are sewing discord, dividing us, and they will reap what they sew one day.  

4. How many proverbs are there about mockers and fools? Proverbs 15:2 “The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness.” Psalm 12:3 “The Lord shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things.”

Psalm 32:9 Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee.

This is just a list of 3 amongst hundreds of verses on the matter of people getting out of hand with what they speak and express. How many times have we wanted to tell some people, “Shut up!” But as Christians we don’t because we do not want to appear rude or let people get undeserving attention in their hate and rudeness. The irony though is they are being rude and getting away with it! We should call people out when they are being offensive, it is wrong!

5. The problem with offenses is it comes from all angles day after day. Most of the offensive speech happening today is from the outside (from those who are of the world, not people who are authentically Christian). It stems from the evil hearts of the wicked who love stirring up controversy and hate dividing others up by race, gender, social status, economic class, religion or by any means possible. These people have destructive agendas in mind and as Christians we are not to get caught in their net of deceits because we have the discernment of the Holy Spirit!

Psalm 5:9 For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue. Proverbs 17:4 A wicked doer giveth heed to false lips; and a liar giveth ear to a naughty tongue.

I always hate it when I see how some people get all excited and anxious when they hear news about who offended who, when they get word of a controversy or a drama. People who love hearing bad news are basically caught up in the point I started off with, that some people get inordinate pleasure from learning about someone else’s pain! Is it really pleasurable to see another humiliated, mocked, and stepped on with offenses?   

6. What ever happened to the “La cucaracha” song? Who remembers how to sing it? ‘Ya no puede caminar, porque le falta, porque le falta una pata pra’ andar.’ That song makes me laugh as I always envision myself leaping out of bed with flip flop smashing a cockroach! How many times in your life have you killed one?  Hundreds, right?  Why do I bring this up? Because an identifiable enemy, one that will contaminate and dirty everything and make life miserable gets no sympathy, it gets smashed with no compassion! Am I not right? This is how we should deal with offenses! We may not smash a person literally, but we must pray, throw the flip flop, and spray away the plague of mockers! What we really want is to convert them, but there is a limit to how much we should tolerate. In some cases we can’t win them because Jesus said Matthew 7:6 “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.”

The problem with our society, and some people here might even be affected, is that we have had our common sense perverted by new non-Christian teachers with new political correct doctrines. New rules define how you can’t speak against this or that or those people, how you must be quite about this other, and now the people live miserable! Even some Christians, have had their judgment tainted. Some people are like the Hindu man doing meditation that will not kill the flies crawling all over him while he meditates. All his energy is not focused on goodness and God anymore but rather on how to put up with all the flies that are tickling all his body!

7. Here we have addressed the offenses coming from the world. Jesus did nothing but good. “The blind receive their sight, 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 what happened? The demonic reprobate people back then, and today as well, rejected Him and claimed to be offended by Him! So offended that they killed Him! Can an offense ever justify a murder?  Matthew 11:6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me

Well, here is my opinion and I hope it is yours as well, whoever gets offended by Jesus is one who is offending me! What has Jesus ever done to offend? He did nothing but forgive, love, and do good! He also proved that He has power over death! He is the Son of God! The problem is the people of the world look at good as evil and evil as good and they do not even perceive His goodness and mercy which He extends to their evil souls.

I know, many in the world argue, oh those church people are all hypocrites, they all are haters so I am offended by these Christians. Sadly, it is true, some Christians are hypocrites and have offended others with arrogance and judgment. Pray you never offend anyone! But these offenders are just a few and not the majority of Christians in the authentic churches I know about. But these people who hide behind the excuse of being offended are exposing how close minded they actually are! Ask them, what are you afraid of that makes you react so emotionally? How easy it is for a person to be a hypocrite and a hater claiming others are the haters. People often don’t even know what they are hating or why they are offended, they are just imitating the ignorant confused supposedly trendy hip rebellious crowd!

8. So in conclusion everything comes back to holiness as a holy person will not offend another in word or in deed. A loving, forgiving, full of the spirit Christian will not be offending others in the world nor those within his or her own Christian family. But it is impossible to have any kind of group of people together without someone offending someone sometime or another. But amongst ourselves, what is the remedy? Love, humility, and forgiveness! A person with true humility will hardly even notice when someone is being cruel in their offenses towards them!

But Paul states in 2 Corinthians 11:29 “Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not?” When someone is hurt by someone’s thoughtless words it is a matter we should correct as soon as possible because it affects us all, especially me as I want everyone living happy in Jesus loving one another, here, and out there!

Have you asked yourself lately, have I offended anyone here? Have I offended someone and I am not aware of it? Ask God to bring to your mind who that is and what you said. Now is the time to ask forgiveness and to come clean. Go to that person and tell them you are sorry before the day is over.          

9. 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Now is the time to see that we must grow in faith and be more careful to not offend those whom we are commanded to love.

Even the offensive people of the world that offend us with their insults and accusations ( being no saint their selves having a heart full of sin), we are commanded by Jesus to just turn the other check and let it pass. Matthew 6:14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses (offenses), your heavenly Father will also forgive you 15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

In this climate of increasing hostility we must grow thicker skin, we must forgive, we must also identify our own sin and offenses, and then we must just let them rest with God and not let them mentally torment us! Do you want to live blessed? Jesus said,” And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.” The closer you are to Jesus, the more you love, obey, live holy, and serve as He did, the more Jesus becomes less offended by you and your sinful evil character. So live offensive free and blessed! Live in Jesus in such a way that you do not offend anyone by your actions, a foolish slip of the tongue, or by a stroke of the keyboard. Proverbs 16:7 When a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him. Psalm 119:165 Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.

Prayer…