The Open Invitation of Offense
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Romans 12:9-10
Did you ever receive an open invitation? An invitation that is always good, no expiration, no fine print? This sort of invitation speaks of friendship and camaraderie—"You're welcome here anytime. Take as much as you want"— an invite without boundary or end. Offense offers that kind of invitation to us. An invitation that, no matter how old, how mature, how spiritual we are, we are invited to partake. Even though this invitation can feel justified in our flesh, it leads to destruction!
See, there are issues in our lives from which we seemingly graduate. Issues that, once you deal with them, they are never a problem again. Offense is not one of these issues. The Bible instructs us to guard our hearts with all diligence. Offense strikes the heart subtly and swiftly, and if you let your guard down, offense will become so comfortable there, that it will leave an open invitation to all sorts of messes! Offense is a choice; being offended is a decision. Once you decide to let it in, it makes itself at home and changes everything--your mood, your attitude, your outlook. One offense can affect your whole life!
How do you keep offense out in a world so full of opinions and rights? In a culture that has "all the feels"?
You choose love. Romans 12 instructs us to love what is good, and hate what is evil. Think upon the good, not the offense. If there is nothing good in the situation, think upon God's goodness! Philippians 4:8 says to think about what is true, noble, lovely, and commendable. Don't dwell on the hurt and wrong in the situation. Cling to the good; hate the evil! The enemy of your soul wants you to cling to the evil, to dwell on it, fester in it, and invite it to take residence in your heart!
Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Romans 12:10
Love endures. A heart full of love and honor has a hard time making room to harbor offense. Choose love, walk in honor, and live in freedom! An offense takes residence in your heart and soul. It takes over your mind and your emotions. It consumes you. Like an open invitation, it minds no boundary lines. By saying "No!" to offense, you are affirming your love for the Lord.
The Bible is clear on how serious God is about offense. Yes, God cares that you are hurt, but He also knows the poison that offense brings. An offended heart isn't a heart fully devoted to the Lord. That offense has lordship over you.
God is so serious about offense that He says if you have an issue with with someone, you need to go make it right before you worship Him (Matthew 5:23). That's right, bitterness and unforgiveness brought about by an offense eventually affects all of your relationships—even your relationship with God. There is freedom in forgiveness; this is why God wants us to deal with it—He wants us to be free! Jesus died on the cross to give you an invitation to complete and total freedom!
God's desire is for our hearts to be fully free and fully His, but you hold the open invitation. Every day you have a lot of opportunities to become offended. Reject the invitation! Choose to love. Choose to be devoted to one another, to think the best about each other, and to keep no record of wrongs. Slam the door closed to offense, and choose sincere love!