Straight from the Heart – Healing from Offenses
Every human encounter has the potential of being fruitful or hurtful. If it is marriage, children, siblings, extended family, neighbors, co-work, school or church, every time we engage in the process of relating to each other, there is an equal potential there for that relationship to yield life lasting fruit or life lasting resentment. Jesus warned us both about the possibilities of offenses occurring and our responsible to respond appropriately.
Luke 17:1 Then He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come! Jesus does not condemn the offended person or the offender. But notice that He uses the word Woe. The meaning of the word woe, in this context, is a warning of sorrow of grief. Woe to the party to which the offense has come because you will experience grief.
- Offense is only offensive if I am offended
Offensive is in the eye of the beholder. We are all humans born post the fall and because of that, the Alexander Pope quote over 400 quote rings true today “To err is human but to forgive is divine”. If I take no offense even if your intent was to hurt, harm or offend, then I am not affected by the act. So many people are wounded emotionally by the acts of others. When I allow you to wound me emotionally it means that I gave you dominion of my self-worth. If you hurt me emotionally or offended me it was because of an act of devaluing me or that which I value. Proverbs 18:19 A brother offended is harder to win than a strong city, And contentions are like the bars of a castle. We become angry with people we do not know, but we only become offended with the people who we are most familiar with. A stranger cuts you off in traffic; you get angry. A co-worker takes the parking space you were waiting for and gives you the bird; you are offended.
The reason why Jesus said woe to the offended is because offense blocks the power of God. Mark 6:3 Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?” So they were offended at Him. 4 But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.” 5 Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. The power of God was with Jesus, there was nothing that it could not do except one thing; He could not show Himself strong in the lives of offended people. The spirit of offense is nowhere more prevalent than the Body of Christ. I have never encountered so many offended people until I became saved and active in a church. Why is that? It is because the devil wants to block the flow of God in the church and wants to divide us so he can conquer us. Matthew 12:25 But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. I am not just talking about the local house, but the Universal Church. Most people that have hurt you or you are offended with are Christians, True or False? Most people that have hurt you or offended you were people that you were very familiar with, True or False? We have to remove the offense from our heart and seek reconciliation even if there is no more relationship. 2 Corinthians 5:18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, No greater biblical example of this can be found like in the small Epistle of Paul to Philemon. Philemon 1:12 I am sending him back. You therefore receive him, that is, my own heart, Now the reason why Paul is sending Oneismus (whose meaning of his name is useful) is for the purpose of reconciliation. There is too much offense in church that is blocking or choking the power of God like a python. When Jesus returns He is not coming back for denominations, local houses of worships, groups or sects; He is calling for the church that has no walls. I believe it is OK for me to be offended with another saint as long as they do go to this church or I do not see them anymore. Not true. We belong not to NHCF but to the Body of Christ; a church that does not have walls or addresses.
Pastor Hurst and First Lady