April 28th
Not
Taking Offense
“A
man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense.”
Proverbs 19:11 NIV
This
verse reminded me of a time when my pastor didn’t return my two calls for help
in making an important ministry decision. I
rarely called him and hoped that he would give my request priority. As the days wore on and the phone didn’t ring, I began to
have thoughts knocking at my door like, “you’re not a priority to him,” or
“why isn’t he calling you back?” or “he must really be disorganized.”
God reminded me that I had to resist the urge of taking offense.
I knew that it was a trap that would only harm me in the long run.
I
decided to share my struggle with my accountability buddy over a cup of coffee.
My friend shared a very similar experience he had with the pastor and
suggested I contact the pastor’s assistant to arrange a meeting.
I called her that day and had an appointment within 45 minutes of
calling! The pastor cleared his
schedule for the afternoon and gave me the counsel on the situation I was
facing. He also shared with me
about the difficult ministry challenges he had been dealing with that had taken
precedence over returning my call. The
time I spent with him helped clear up my misunderstanding and opened deeper
communication channels that strengthened our relationship.
Offense
is based on unforgiveness. Proverbs
18:19 NIV says, “An
offended brother is more unyielding than a fortified city, and disputes are like
the barred gates of a citadel.” Taking offense allows the devil to
build an “anti-God” stronghold around us based on unforgiveness.
From that stronghold, the devil can then work to cut us off from the body
of Christ and lead us into more sin.
I
suppose that people who struggle with pride also probably struggle with wanting
to take offense when people don’t show them courtesy or respect.
Had I taken offense in the above situation, it could have led to a rift
between me and the pastor, or worse, me leaving the church.
I’m so glad I didn’t take the bait and hung in there a little longer
to understand what was going on.
The
first actions for breaking the bondage of offense is to first forgive those whom
we have allowed to offend us. We
may need God’s help in being able to forgive.
If that is the case, all we have to do is ask him to help us do so!
Questions
for further thought:
How
does the temptation to take offense appeal to pride in our life?
Why
is forgiving people so important to our spiritual condition? (Mark 11:24-25)
Are
there any people whom you have not forgiven in your life for past offenses?
(please take a moment to ask God to reveal any)
Prayer:
“Heavenly
Father, Lord, I confess that I have not forgiven the following persons for the
things they did to me: ____________
(list them). I now forgive them.
Please forgive me for my sin of taking offense.
Thank you for forgiving me of my sin and purifying me!
I pray that your perfect will be done in each of those persons’ lives.
I praise you and thank you, Father.
In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”