If you are asking yourself 'What is Christianity' then you need to know what it isn't:
Point 1. I cannot count the number of things that offend my personal standards of decency, aesthetics or intellectual rigor, but those are offenses against my ideas, they are not an offense against me. The difference is important, because understanding just that one idea dramatically alters your willingness to take offense. If you do not like my ideas, my taste in music, art or even my writing style, that’s simply a matter of personal opinion and taste (I have taste and you don’t). For me to be offended by a difference of opinion is child like and points to me having issues to deal with and not you.
Without question the ‘Good Samaritan’ in Luke 10:25-37 own beliefs had to have been offended by the Jewish ideas, behavior and attitude towards all Samaritans. Yet when he encountered the badly beaten Jew on his way to Jericho, his own compassion clearly proves that while his ideas were offended, ‘he’ was not.
Point 2. Is the offensive act real or is it assumed? Frequently (not always) the offense we take, is an offense that exists in our minds only, a misunderstanding, or a rumor passed down to us by someone who knows someone who knows someone who heard someone. There are however very real occasions where we could, if we choose, to take offense to a very real insult, behavior or situation; when our reputations, our livelihood, and in some cases our very lives are besieged.
Real or perceived the result is the same; a wall is built, and a relationship is destroyed. What would happen if you slowed down, asked yourself ‘why am I offended, is it real or only imagined?’ In truth however, regardless of the answer, you will build one of two structures… a wall or a bridge.
Point 3. Every instant of offense involves two different and distinct individuals or groups, the perpetrator and the victim. The type of offense involved is what determines who is the perpetrator and whom is the victim. For example, if you have deliberately spread false rumors and lies to our co-workers about me; you are the perpetrator and I am the victim. However, if I simply assume/perceive that you have spread these same rumors and lies around in regards to me, when in truth you did not, then I am the perpetrator of my own offense and you are the victim.
To see how all of this plays out scripturally we simply need to go to Judas’ betrayal of Jesus.
Undoubtedly, long before Judas’ betrayal, Judas planted the seed of offense in his own mind; Judas believed that Jesus had somehow offended him. But as we know that Jesus lived a sin free life, it is equally obvious that Judas’ offense was perceived, not real. Thus, Judas was the perpetrator of the offense, and Jesus was the victim.
If you are like me, you have lots of experience at being offended, yet in our near perfectly lived life, we can scarcely recall any incidences where we have offended another; in truth however, we are pretty good at it. Our Bible is filled with examples of those who offend and those who could have chosen to be offended. A perfect example would be the story of Joseph in Genesis (how many different people were the perpetrators’ of offense in his life story, including Joseph)
How many times have we retaliated against someone who has offended us, either real or perceived? How many walls have we built in our life? Judas built his wall, Jesus certainly had a right to be offended; instead he built a bridge.
“For the Son of Man must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago. But how terrible it will be for the one who betrays him. It would be far better for that man if he had never been born!” Matthew 26:24
Step 2. Offense
“What sorrow awaits the world, because it tempts people to sin? Temptations are inevitable, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting.” Matthew 18:7 (offense is a temptation)
Three point to understanding offense
- To understand offense, one must first understand who or what the offense is against.
- There are two types of offense, real and perceived.
- The perpetrator and the victim of the offense are determined by the type of offense
Point 1. I cannot count the number of things that offend my personal standards of decency, aesthetics or intellectual rigor, but those are offenses against my ideas, they are not an offense against me. The difference is important, because understanding just that one idea dramatically alters your willingness to take offense. If you do not like my ideas, my taste in music, art or even my writing style, that’s simply a matter of personal opinion and taste (I have taste and you don’t). For me to be offended by a difference of opinion is child like and points to me having issues to deal with and not you.
Without question the ‘Good Samaritan’ in Luke 10:25-37 own beliefs had to have been offended by the Jewish ideas, behavior and attitude towards all Samaritans. Yet when he encountered the badly beaten Jew on his way to Jericho, his own compassion clearly proves that while his ideas were offended, ‘he’ was not.
Point 2. Is the offensive act real or is it assumed? Frequently (not always) the offense we take, is an offense that exists in our minds only, a misunderstanding, or a rumor passed down to us by someone who knows someone who knows someone who heard someone. There are however very real occasions where we could, if we choose, to take offense to a very real insult, behavior or situation; when our reputations, our livelihood, and in some cases our very lives are besieged.
Real or perceived the result is the same; a wall is built, and a relationship is destroyed. What would happen if you slowed down, asked yourself ‘why am I offended, is it real or only imagined?’ In truth however, regardless of the answer, you will build one of two structures… a wall or a bridge.
Point 3. Every instant of offense involves two different and distinct individuals or groups, the perpetrator and the victim. The type of offense involved is what determines who is the perpetrator and whom is the victim. For example, if you have deliberately spread false rumors and lies to our co-workers about me; you are the perpetrator and I am the victim. However, if I simply assume/perceive that you have spread these same rumors and lies around in regards to me, when in truth you did not, then I am the perpetrator of my own offense and you are the victim.
To see how all of this plays out scripturally we simply need to go to Judas’ betrayal of Jesus.
Undoubtedly, long before Judas’ betrayal, Judas planted the seed of offense in his own mind; Judas believed that Jesus had somehow offended him. But as we know that Jesus lived a sin free life, it is equally obvious that Judas’ offense was perceived, not real. Thus, Judas was the perpetrator of the offense, and Jesus was the victim.
If you are like me, you have lots of experience at being offended, yet in our near perfectly lived life, we can scarcely recall any incidences where we have offended another; in truth however, we are pretty good at it. Our Bible is filled with examples of those who offend and those who could have chosen to be offended. A perfect example would be the story of Joseph in Genesis (how many different people were the perpetrators’ of offense in his life story, including Joseph)
How many times have we retaliated against someone who has offended us, either real or perceived? How many walls have we built in our life? Judas built his wall, Jesus certainly had a right to be offended; instead he built a bridge.
“For the Son of Man must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago. But how terrible it will be for the one who betrays him. It would be far better for that man if he had never been born!” Matthew 26:24
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