Dealing with offenses
A third reason people take offense according the Bible is that the offended person lacks sufficient Christian character. Matthew 13:21 says, “Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.” The phrase hath not root in himself means that his character is not deep. He is easily offended because he has not yet grown and matured in Christ, digging out the rocks and stumps in his life so that he can be a fruitful field for God. Everyone of us has things in our lives that are stumbling stones.
As people come through our life, if we don’t remove these stumbling stones, others will stumble over these areas, and they or we will become offended when this happens. An immature person takes offense at little things; a person who grows up into maturity is less likely to be offended. I have heard people say to each other things like, “grow up”, “just be an adult”, “don’t be so juvenile”, or “how junior high”.
The issue is not just being emotionally immature, it is being spiritually immature, as well. Even an emotionally mature lost man will not be able to handle many offenses, but a spiritually mature man will be able to control his spirit and forgive. God gives an example of each of these in proverbs. Proverbs 25:28 says, “He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.” Proverbs 16:32 says, “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.”
The last reason given in the Bible is that they lack love for God and His Word. Psalm 119:165 says, “Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.” A sincere love for God and His Word will cause us to forgive our brothers when they trespass against us, overlooking their faults that would otherwise offend us. 1 Peter 4:8 says, “And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.”
When we take offense, we are telling on our love for God and His Word. When I find myself taking offense at what others have done, the first thing I do is examine my walk with God. Even someone who is grounded in the Lord can struggle with this when they are not walking with the Lord as they should. When we are not faithful in the Word our love slacks off from what it should be. Little things become grievous to us and we begin to act in the flesh if we are not walking in a fervent relationship with God. Being filled with the Spirit is the ultimate weapon against this issue.
