The Christian Journey

Why Are We So Easily Offended?

By Pastor Doug Gilford

Have you noticed the easily hurt and offended people around you lately? We watch our words and actions so as not to offend them. We temper our passion, feelings, and responses to things, being ever so careful to choose the correct pronouns or descriptors of people. God forbid if we offend a valuable soul! We have muzzled ourselves on political differences, religious expression, and lifestyle opinions.

We were just recently bashful about our vaccination or nonvaccine status for fear of starting a war of words and losing the people we love. As we do this, we conform to a pattern of sameness like robots marching in a straight line to a dark world of boredom. Differences in people must exist and flourish to motivate creativity and free expression of thought.

It wasn't too long ago that people with differences were free to have candid talks about why they did or did not agree. One might learn something from someone who does not align perfectly with their ways. But today, to be different from the masses and outwardly express such is to be hurtful, rude, or outright offensive. I believe we are in a trap designed for us thousands of years ago. Jesus points it out and talks about it.

Jesus said that a time like this would come. "And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold." (Mat-

thew 24:10-12)

In the above text, Jesus describes end-time events or end of the world events. One of which is sometimes easily overlooked is that "many will be offended." Jesus does not say what people will be offended by or from, just that they will be offended.

Then as the known world is offended, Jesus describes that people (false prophets) will rise up and deceive many. Turn on your televisions. Listen to the radio stations. Open a few YouTube videos. All are replete with people "rising up" to explain what's going on. People are telling us how to live, from television news to newspapers. What we should think, and what we should say. Politicians and preachers alike.

Notice the downward spiral. 1. Many will be offended; 2. People will betray and hate one another, and 3. False prophets will rise up. Jesus describes that lawlessness will take over, and love will grow cold. Am I the only one seeing this? I am sure not.

Since we live in an age of offense, please allow me to offer Biblical principles on how to live above offense.

The first thing we must get established is who we are trying to please.

If our goal is to be famous or fabulous in another person's view of us, it will change what risk level we are willing to take in relationships. Yet if Christ is our priority, we will speak the truth in love, even as society says to conform and comply to the social order.

Christ did not fit into His social order, and they were offended at Him. Did He say anything mean, abusive, or full of hate? No, He spoke love and mercy and instructed people to have faith in God alone, not His day's established government hierarchy. As Christians, we walk in the ways of Christ, and people may be upset with us. What? Shall we change our values? No, instead, we should, as Christ, demonstrate honesty, while demonstrating pure love.

The other way to rise above offense is what my mom used to say, "Sometimes people will not like all we say or do…but we must be true to who we are." If we expect to live at peace in our minds and with others, we must recognize that we cannot please all people all the time.

Sometimes offense occurs. Often it might be us as the offender. In any case, love must come in between the offense and the offender. The Bible says that "Love covers a multitude of sins." (1 Peter

4:8)

Since we are living in the age of offense, where love has grown cold, what is better than to choose to let love cover the offense and, more importantly, the offender? Let love come between us and the offense.

How is this possible? Let's talk to God about it. God knows we are powerless without Him and will help us in our weak moments. When we find the strength to ask God for help, he will give us the power for healing. May God bless you on this mission! >

The Christian Journey

Doug Gilford, Senior Pastor

Cornerstone Church 23051 Hwy 1088 Mandeville, La 70448. 985-624-8652 or email doug@ilovecornerstone.com

REBEL

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speaks to me.”

I remember a story Pastor Chuck Smith told about his grandson. One day, he said to his mother, “God never speaks to me.”

She said, “You know when you do something wrong and feel bad in your heart for doing it?”

“Yeah.”

“That can be God speaking to you.”

He paused for a moment. Then he said, “Mom, God speaks to me all the time!”

There are a lot of ways God speaks to us, but He does speak to us. And the primary way He speaks to us is through the Word of God, the Bible. God revealed His secrets to Noah, and the Bible says that “the secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant” (Psalm 25:14 NKJV).

Sinful Humanity and Rebel Christians

God reveals things to Christians that unbelievers don’t understand. We know, for instance, that humanity is not basically good. The Bible teaches that humanity is basically sinful. Now, that makes sense, and the world makes more sense when we accept the premise that we’re not basically good. Rather, we’re basically sinful.

But the Bible also teaches that God is good. The Bible teaches that one day judgment will come to the world and that it will get worse before it gets better. The Bible teaches that one day Christ will return and will right every wrong.

So, when you believe the Bible, you know things other people don’t know. In the same way, Noah understood that, and God revealed secrets to him.

Noah also had great reverence for God, which I think is lacking in our culture today. But when (Hebrews 11:7) says that Noah “moved with godly fear,” it doesn’t mean that he cowered before God. We could also translate it to say that he “moved with reverence.”

I like this definition of the fear of the Lord: a wholesome dread of displeasing Him. This doesn’t mean that we cower in fear of Him, but that we love Him so much that we have respect for Him. Noah had reverence and respect for God, and he never lost that.

If you want to be a rebel, then follow Jesus Christ. You don’t even need a leather jacket, a motorcycle, or your wallet attached to a chain. A world changer, a real Christian, is someone who believes the Bible and lives by what it says. That is real rebellion in the best sense of the word. >

Greg Laurie

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