Am I Offended?

Last night I woke up at 4am to send my husband on his way to Denver. He is gone for the day and as he left I went back to bed but had a hard time fall asleep again. This is not a good thing since my little man, the alarm clock in the house, was to be up in a couple of hours!

I don't know about you, but my mind can go from one subject to another complete different in no time! Then I was thinking about something that happened during the day. I meet some people on a regular basis during the week. And yesterday some were absent due to sickness, death in the family, being involved in a car accident. Then someone said "it is the end of the world... no seriously, can you imagine, they are saying that the world will end on May 21st, 2011." That comment opened the doors for all kinds of comments. This was not a group at the church, some might belong to some church or another, but considering the comments of those around me I doubt that any of them know what the end of the world will be like! I wanted to say "just read the bible and you will see that we don't have a specific date for it"... but I didn't say anything.

And as I laid in my bed in the crack of down, I was thinking about me, about those who I love, friends, family. How are we in preparing for those times? My husband is currently in the middle of a Prophecy Seminar and every time I hear him preaching I see that it is not rocket science to understand what being prepared for the end of the world is all about. No, it is not complicated. So why so many don't understand or don't want to understand, or don't care about?

In four years of marriage I have learned many things but one of them is that I cannot let my wishes, my will and my self have first place. I am sharing my life with someone I love and his interests, his wishes are very important to me so I cannot just let the SELF rise and say that I want this or that my way. And I think that is the problem with the world we live in now. Everything is to benefit ME. If "I" am not happy in this marriage, I am leaving and looking for something or someone else that will make ME happy. If "I" don't like this job, I will look for something that will benefit ME better, if this friend is not the way "I" think he/she should be, I can cut him/her off.

Sadly that is how it is in families, churches and also with God. So, if God said to do something that "I" don't agree with, I am sorry I will do it MY way. If the church doesn't function the way "I" think it should, sorry, I am leaving. We get offended so easily!! Offense will happen anywhere we are, but the problem is when we let SELF rise then we take the offense so hard and we focus so much on it that it becomes almost impossible to think differently.

I have people close to me whom I love deeply who have told me "this is not fit for me", talking about God. This is not fit for me??? How about God giving Jesus to die knowing you would say that one day, but He still did it just to give you the chance to repent? Aren't you a fit for that? I have so many friends, close friends who don't go to church or don't have a relationship with God just because someone did or said something that "offended" them.

There is a book called "The Bait of Satan" written by John Bevere and he talks about this. He says "One of his (Satan's) most deceptive and insidious kinds of bait is something every Christian has encountered - offense. Actually, offense itself is not deadly - if it stays in the trap. But if we pick it up and consume it and feed on it in our hearts, then we have become offended. Offended people produce much fruit, such as hurt, anger, outrage, jealousy, resentment, strife, bitterness, hatred, and envy. Some of the consequences of picking up an offense are insults, attacks, wounding, division, separation, broken relationships, betrayal and backsliding... Often those who are offended do not even realize they are trapped. They are oblivious to their condition because they are so focused on the wrong that was done to them... The most effective way for the enemy to blind us is to cause us to focus on ourselves."

Selfishness is something very common in our society. And Satan finds many settle ways to make it appear "normal" or with nothing bad about it. But he is the one most interested in breaking all kinds of relationships. He doesn't care for families to stay together, for husband and wife to keep the holy vows, he doesn't want the church to be united, he doesn't want children to love, and respect their parents, and of course he wants to break any relationship one can have with God. That is why he works to rise the self in us so when we are focusing on ourselves there is no way to build the relationships that matter and there is no way to see that there is a light in the midst of all the bad things that happen in the world.

God is here, he is near me and you and He has given certainty of many things. One of them is that there is no way we can live in this world without being offended. John Bevere says "...Jesus made it very clear that it is impossible to live in this world and not have the opportunity to become offended. Yet most believers are shocked, bewildered, and amazed when it happens. We believe we are the only ones who have been wronged. This response leaves us vulnerable to a root of bitterness. Therefore we must be prepared and armed for offenses, because our response determines our future."

Let's all humble ourselves and remember that there is a way to win against SELF and against Satan. Jesus is real and He is the One who is able to help us to overcome not only selfishness, but also He can help us to overcome disappointment, offenses and bitterness towards those whom we think wronged us.

Have a great week.

by Cristiane Jones on March 09, 2011