“Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you.”   (Colossians 3:13)

A fast-speaking TV weatherman with several decades of experience was talking over a visual of a local park named after Martin Luther King, Jr. while presenting the then-current weather conditions. As he rushed over the named location of the outdoor scene, he inserted what sounded like an all-too-familiar racial slur.  Not pausing to acknowledge his ‘on-air’ flub, he proceeded to give his forecast.  Following a backlash on social media, station management acted to discharge the veteran broadcaster in what many deemed as a rush to judgement. The unemployed weatherman insisted that he has always tried to maintain high professional standards. He stated that he accidentally jumbled his words with no intent of malice in any form. The apology was met with skepticism from those who reasoned that he only apologized because he got caught. However, Dr. Bernice King, daughter of the famous civil rights leader, said she can’t question someone’s intent and insisted the broadcaster should be given a chance to redeem himself. As the nation prepares to celebrate the holiday that bears the King name, one might wonder how the former Nobel Peace Prize recipient would have himself responded?

In situations like these, perhaps we need to learn to become unoffendable. We can allow an assumed offense to be an opportunity to become more Christ-like by showing that we value joy, peace, and inner freedom more than clinging to our perceived rights.  Being unoffendable is not about being victimized or even being weak. It is about taking the high ground, having self-restraint and not letting someone else’s behavior, however intentional it may seem, determine ours. Jesus warned that, as we near the end of the age, a majority of people will be offended to such a degree that they fall away from the faith. Listen carefully to His warning: “At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people. Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:10-12). When we become easily offended, it is contrary to basic Christian teachings. We allow ourselves to be judgmental (Matthew 7:1), we stand at risk of suppressing truth (1 John 3:18), we block opportunities for forgiveness (Matthew 6:14-15), and we fail to allow for a path to redemption (Ephesians 1:7). The God of second chances would remind us that His very own Son said, “Let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone” (John 8:7).

Members of our society need to grow to be less reactionary and work toward consideration and reasonableness. Most people aren’t aiming to insult or offend you – they are likely unaware of the fact that what they have said has hurt or disrespected you. When you consider how many times you have unintentionally said things that may have offended others and were not rebuked, you can most certainly extend that same grace and forgiveness. James put it this way: “Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires . . . But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless” (James 1:19-20, 25-26). What it really comes down to is a personal choice. Nobody can offend you without your permission. I am reminded of a story about a man who constantly harassed and insulted the Buddha, throwing all sorts of verbal abuse at him. He did everything he could to offend Buddha.  Unmoved, he simply turned to the man and said, “May I ask you a question?” The man responded, “Well, what?”  Buddha said, “If someone offers you a gift and you decline to accept it, to whom then does it belong?”  The man said, “Then it belongs to the person who offered it.” Buddha smiled stating, “That is correct.  So if I decline to accept your abuse, does it not then still belong to you?”  The man was speechless and walked away.  Friend, when you encounter someone who offends you, consider that it might not have been their intent at all. Even if it was . . . know that you don’t have to make their insensitivities your own. It’s what Christ would have you do!

REFLECTION: Have you become offended by someone recently? What is one area of your life where you are likely to take offense? How can you move from being offended to becoming unoffendable?

A NEW LOOKUP  DEVOTION IS UPLOADED EACH WEEK. THE NEXT WEEKLY POSTING WILL BE ON SAT., JANUARY  26, 2019. COMMENTS ARE WELCOMED.