Why does everyone get so offended? I've just been observing lately, how offended people get over things. They could be big issues like race, or religion, or politics. Sometimes they are little issues, like preferences, or attitudes, or small mistakes. This week, I was faced with this very thing. I had a situation at work and I got pretty frustrated, offended. I literally had to go to the bathroom in the middle of my shift, pray, and breath. For the most part, I try to let things roll off. It is not worth holding on to worthless stuff. However, I'm certainly not above getting burned. Definitely not above getting angry.
The more and more I have thought about this, I realize that people hold on to offences like they hold onto good memories. Just as easy at it is to remember all the good times, they just as easily recall all the wrongs done to them. It makes people bitter, until all the good starts to get overshadowed by a constant need to find something wrong in everything.
It's horrible. In our culture, people think they have a right to be offended. A right to freak out when something bad happens to them. A right to blame something or someone. Constantly feeling slighted, or treated wrongly, until it becomes the norm. We stop seeing the good in people and just hold on to the possibility of getting hurt.
Being offended and holding on to unfairness is a trap. I want to offer freedom to anyone who will listen. I know that its hard to forgive when you get hurt. I know its not easy to let go when you feel wronged and your american sense of justice must find a solution. We can think of all the reasons why we are offended. We can find lots of ways to justify our feelings, but in the long run its just a sad waste of precious time. Time to be focusing on the good in life. Time to embrace the good in people.
Offense leads us down a path riddled with bitterness, pain, stress, and anxiety. It doesn't help us, it doesn't answer the need for justice, it doesn't make us feel better. It just makes us bitter. You know what they say about bitterness. Its like drinking poison and hoping the other person will get hurt.
Freedom begins when you release the need to hold on to all of the stuff that has bugged you or offended you. If you have to take a long hard look inside so that you can let go then do it. I want to tell you all a quick story from the bible that is a perfect example. It can be found in Genesis 37-50.
Joseph was a young man that had everything going for him, he was most loved by his father and was extremely spoiled. This offended his older brothers and out of their offense they got rid of him by selling him into slavery. For years Joseph served in his master Potiphar's house until he was accused of immorality with the master's wife, which was a lie. He was thrown in prison. At this point, the list of reasons he should be offended was pretty long. He was betrayed, falsely accused, and wrongfully convicted. I'm sure during this time he was upset. The bible never talks about Joseph being a complainer or cashing it in because he was upset. Eventually he became an upstanding prisoner and in doing so had an opportunity to talk to the king. Through this exchange he was lifted out of an impossible situation and put in a prominent position of leadership. Years later, his brothers were in deep need, they came to Eygpt for help. Joseph was the very person that they were to come in contact with. Joseph knew them right away even though they did not recognize him. At that point, I'm sure the years of pain came rushing back and at first he treated them harshly. He had to deal with how he was wronged. What he did was amazing. Eventually he revealed himself to them and was able to forgive them. This is what he said in Genesis 45:8 “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God..." He was able to see past any offense and any difficulty in life to recognize that God was in control all a long.
That is an extremely short version of the story but here is my point. This man had every reason to be offended and mad and frustrated. Instead of holding on to that he kept going. He didn't waste his time. He did all that he could with what he had. As a slave he became a master in his owner's house. As a prisoner, he became a leader, the one who watched over them. All of these difficult experiences were opportunities for him to have a big chip on his shoulder. Somehow, by the grace of God, he didn't allow that to happen and it helped him to accomplish amazing things.
Being offended can simply hold you back. Keep you from being the best person you can be. Keeping you from truly loving and truly living. Let it go today. Please read the story of Joseph and allow it to put into perspective a life lived forgiving.
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