AREN'T YOU TIRED OF BEING OFFENDED?
- Terra Wagner
- Nov 8, 2016
- 6 min read
The day has finally come.
The day where our country's people will vote a representative into a place of great influence.
I have seen and heard so many opinions and thoughts on what today's outcome will be, what tomorrow will bring, and what the future will hold.
I do not believe that the explosive arguments made by opinionated bullies and the current violence seen in our country is a result of this election alone. What is going on in our country is not a political issue, it is an issue of the heart. Bringing two unsavory individuals onto a platform did not create this kind of ugly talk and chaos.
We created it. Our sin has invited this.
"But the things that come out of a person's mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. " Matthew 15:18
I want to share with you Day 4 from my recent 7 day devotional: UPROOTED
I believe that if we can take this teaching to heart, we can change the atmosphere of our home, city, state, and country.
Just like every vote counts and matters, every soul, once it has been exposed to freedom and begins to change, can and will cause a ripple effect in the lives of others. I want change but I know that voting someone into an office is not the only way to get it.
I must look inward, quit grumbling, and work on me. If every one of us did this, our country would look completely different.
Aren't you tired of being offended? I am.
“Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offenses will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come! It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.”
Luke 17: 1-2 (KJV)
Lots of crying, toy begging, and the frantic unloading of a way too full cart was happening on that Monday afternoon in Walmart. I had all four of my children with me that day. Four different opinions, four hungry stomachs, and four wiggling bodies under the age of five. I’m not sure why my brain justified going to the grocery store on a Monday that close to nap time but it was happening and I was oh-so-close to ending this most unpleasant moment in my life.
The lady bagging all of my groceries sweetly smiled at the kids in the midst of the chaos and began to speak to me about her own grandchildren. “They are a joy," she said. I smiled, nodded, then wiped the sweat from my face.
As our time in that candy-filled death trap that is the checkout line at Walmart came to an end, I noticed that all of my produce was set to the side and un-bagged. As I went to pay, the lady kindly informed me that her scale wasn’t working and that I would need to go and get into another line and buy my produce there.
Frustration was briefly present internally but I just smiled and then gathered my items to set off on another Walmart adventure. Right before I walked away I heard the sound of external frustration around me. The middle-aged woman who was standing behind me began to loudly express her opinions to this kind Walmart employee. I was very surprised. Surprised that a woman with only a few items on the belt and no children hanging from her limbs would make such a fuss. She was apparently so inconvenienced that she needed everyone in the 5 surrounding lanes to hear about it.
This all went down right around the same time that the Lord was teaching me something valuable. Isn’t He just good like that? He was teaching me about being offended.
My blood began to boil as the woman ripped this employee apart with her words. I noticed myself lingering there in order to make eye contact with the woman that was getting pummeled and offer an encouraging smile.
It shook me up.
I was physically mad all the way home. I took the 15 minute ride home as an opportunity to chew out the air around me.
Quickly her offense became my offense. Deep roots of bitterness and unforgiveness will always bubble up to the surface as an offended attitude.
Offense has incredibly damaging properties. It causes hurt people to hurt people.
God’s word is very specific in its teaching about taking on offense. In Luke chapter 17, Jesus teaches his disciples that “it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones”. Basically it is better for you to die than to bring offense to a little child.
Do you know what letting offense take “seed” in your life looks like? Your children are taught from a perspective that has grown from that seed. You will produce bitter and unforgiving generations of children. You are better off dead is what Jesus teaches. Wow! That is such a bold statement and a sobering reminder.
So how do we get rid of this root of offense in our lives? I’m so glad that you asked because scripture follows up this teaching with the parable of the mustard seed.
“And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.(KJV)” Luke 17:6
It’s good to note that the King James Version is the closest translation of scripture to the original language that the bible was written in. It is a bit harder to read in this day and age but to really understand what Jesus is saying in this parable it’s important to do so. A very important part of this parable is the fact that Jesus used the sycamine tree as a reference.
Here are some facts about the sycamine tree: 1. The sycamine tree had a very large and deep root structure. When cut down
at the ground level leaving the roots behind, the tree would grow back. 2. The fruit that it produced was a very bitter and tangy fig. 3. The sycamine tree’s wood was the preferred wood for building caskets. 4. The sycamine tree was pollinated only by wasps that would puncture the heart of the fruit with their stinger.
When you look at the correlation, isn’t this what bitterness and unforgiveness does to our souls? Does sweeping unforgiveness under the rug really make a difference? It looks gone from the surface but really it’s roots keep growing. A person that is bitter is usually a very hard person to engage with. A moment of offense will bring back a lifetime of unforgiveness. A little offense can be as if someone stung you right in the heart. You become an open and walking wound that is vulnerable for more hurt time and time again. And then the cycle continues, of hurting people hurting others. Before you know it you are older, tired, angry, bitter, and the words that come out of your mouth do not bring life. They bring death.
The Word of God is described in Ephesians chapter six as the Sword of the Spirit. Based off of the context in which this was written, the Roman soldier’s sword was used for two reasons. It was used to fight the enemy and then used to dig out the arrow heads that got past their shields in battle. The sword was used to cut in order to heal. God’s word will heal offense, bitterness, unforgiveness, and the list goes on and on and on.
We find the answer to this right inside of this passage of scripture. We must say to the tree, be plucked up and get into the sea, and it shall obey you. It takes acknowledgment and action on your part. When you make the choice to uproot the sycamine tree in your life, you are choosing to change generations to come.
QUESTIONS
Who do you need to forgive?
Who has your unforgiveness, bitterness, & offended attitude hurt?
Stop to pray and ask Jesus to show you where the root of that hurt was formed. Wait for His response. He will bring to your mind that moment if you do not know it already. Once the root is revealed, ask Him to remove it once and for all!
PRAYER
Lord, I pray that you would remove the root of bitterness and unforgiveness from my heart. God I thank you for being faithful and doing what you said you would do for me!
I pray that I would be able to move forward from this moment on with a different attitude, mindset, and confidence. A confidence in knowing that it has been finished, a confidence in asking for forgiveness and a confidence as I forgive those that have hurt me.
AMEN