Scripture Reading:

Proverbs 17:14; Proverbs 19:11; Proverbs 20:3; Luke 6:45; Philippians 1:9-10; Colossians 3:13

Please comment below with your conversation with God and/or insights from today’s Scriptures.

You can answer the following:

1. What are the Scriptures telling you about offense?

2. Have you been truly offended? What was it and how did you reconcile the offense, if you did?

3. Have you offended someone? What was your response to their charge against you?

4. Are you holding on to offenses? What is it about the offense that you believe God is leading you to pray on?

Don’t forget to join us nightly at 7pm on FB.com/waterschurchnyc and join the conversation about the Scriptures and topic at hand.

Offensive Interference | Lemuel Ayudtud

How have you been offended? How have you been an offense? Your response can reveal your maturity as a person and your understanding and acceptance of God’s very own plan for dealing with offense.

Here are my take from the Scripture reading:

1. Before it gets any worse, let it go. Maturity is not found in how you can outwit the person you’re arguing with, it’s found in your ability to bring it to a close “before the dam breaks lose”. Talk it out, but know when to walk away without anger or further hurt.

2. Learn to judge whether a matter is worth the trouble. Ask yourself the question: do I just want to be heard or is there really a solution forthcoming? Can I live with me just forgiving someone for the hurt instead of me pursuing that someone for an apology that may never come?

3. Respond with kindness, grace and love when someone offends—especially when it’s accidental. Offenses will come and love always wins. Lead with love even if others are led with hate. We can chose our response. Why try to change someone when you can only control yourself?

4. Better be the one to suffer than to be the one that makes others suffer. Life is not fair, but fairness wasn’t found on the cross either. You know what was at the cross? Sacrifice, forgiveness and the promise of overcoming whatever evil people hurled against Jesus; and that promise is also for us.

5. Not everything can be resolved, but all things can be forgiven. Learn the heart of forgiveness as you exercise the art of resolution.

6. Acknowledge your ability to be offensive. Know that you can also be an interference in someone’s joy and happiness. Don’t live in guilt, but do walk in humility, being quick to apologize when someone has been offended by you. You know what? It doesn’t even have to make sense to you. It’s easier to just say, “I’m sorry I made you feel that way. Please let me know how I could have handled it differently. Thank you for sharing your hurt with me.”

There’s is a term in American football called “offensive pass interference”. It’s a foul or a break of the fair play rules that indicates that the team with the ball disrupted the defensive player (the team without the ball) from being able to intercept or break up a thrown ball to the offensive player. (Here’s a clip of what this foul looks like.) I know that I’ve probably lost a lot of you. Haha. But bear with me as I try to make sense of it in light of offenses.

The word “offense” in Proverbs 19:11 is a clarification of the word in Hebrew for transgression. (Study the original word here.) From my understanding, offense is doing something wrong or against another person. When you offend someone or are an offense to someone, you are interfering in their effort to love you or live peaceably with you. Much like a foul in football, you are preventing them from performing their part in the game of life. (Did I make sense of the correlation? I hope I did. Haha)

Anyway, because you are able to read this, I can’t imagine you not having been offended at one time or another. And, if you’re honest, you probably have done some offending yourself. (If you’re really honest, probably more than you care to acknowledge.)

It’s almost inevitable to have lived your life to a point of being able to read—I dare say talk and know—having been offended or been the offender. Because of this truth, the Bible is not concerned about us not being offended or being an offense, it is concerned about how we respond to either or.

Lord, teach me to not be an offense. Help me to keep my mouth shut and my heart right when others offended me. Help me not be easily provoked. Instead of allowing myself to be stirred up, let me trust that You have my back and whatever injustice I may face, You will heal me and correct the balance. Teach me to lead with love. Lead me to the right words and attitude. And help me to humble myself when I do offend someone. I want to be perfect as You have made me, so Lord help me be more like You—loving and forgiving despite of what others do against me and being quiet even when I’m being accused of something I did or did not do. Help me to trust that You are my advocate. In Your Name, Jesus, I pray. Amen.