Offense
Baby Girl,
Look up the words offense, offensive, offend, offended, and offendable.
Offense =
A breach of a law or rule; an illegal act
Annoyance or resentment brought about by a perceived insult to or disregard for oneself or one’s standards or principles
Look how they use it in a sentence: “I didn’t intend to give offense.” I know your heart. You don’t intend to give offense either.
The action of attacking someone or something
Comes from the Latin “offensus” meaning annoyance, Old French “offens” meaning misdeed, Latin “offense” meaning a striking against, a hurt, or displeasure, and Latin “offendere” meaning strike against
Offensive =
Causing someone to feel deeply hurt, upset, or angry
Actively aggressive; attacking
Offend =
Cause to feel upset, annoyed, or resentful
Commit an illegal act
Offended = Resentful or annoyed, typically because of a perceived insult
Offendable = Capable of taking offense liable to be angry or displeased
The message of Christ you are choosing to share goes against the common law of political correctness in your society. By sharing it, you will naturally cause offense to those who abide by the common law of the land. Go ahead. Look it up.
Common law = the part of English law that is derived from custom and judicial precedent rather than statutes; denoting a partner in a long-term relationship of cohabitation
As in the third definition of offense - the act of openly sharing what you believe to be true based on Scripture - you will be accused of attacking someone or something. Just as I did not send my Son into the world to attack or condemn the world but, to the contrary, to bring peace to the world, so I send you.
I hear you.
What about when Jesus said, “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s enemies will be those of his own household. He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it.”
My sword has never been a weapon of violence. Remember when Peter drew his sword in the garden and chopped off the soldier’s ear? Jesus rebuked him saying, “All who draw the sword will die by the sword.”
Jesus is called the Prince of Peace. He came to bring peace between man and God, not man and man.
People who reject God, as demonstrated by Jesus Christ being the only Way of salvation, find themselves always at war with God. People who come to Jesus in repentance find peace with God through Him.
Baby, seek to be at peace with all men but remember: Jesus warned that you would be hated because of Him. When they reject you because you share My Word, they are not rejecting you but Me. This will hurt and you will want to mend what is broken to soothe the ache in your soul. You can’t. You are incapable of mending an offense that comes PURELY as a result of others rejecting Me. I am the only One who can resolve that kind of offense.
I need you to look up that word you’ve looked up a dozen times: purely.
Purely = in a pure manner; entirely, exclusively
Pure = not mixed with or adulterated with any other substance or material; without any extraneous or unnecessary elements; free of contamination
Be ENTIRELY certain, before you dismiss someone’s offense as being PURELY on account of rejecting Me, that you have not contaminated the delivery of My Word with your personality, preferences, perspective, or bias.
Listen with your WHOLE heart when someone is courageous enough to share their offense with you.
Look up the Biblical definition of offense in the Strong’s Concordance.
Offense =
(4624) skandalizo – to put a snare (in the way), hence, to cause to stumble, to give offense
(4625) skandalon – the means of stumbling; stresses the method or means of entrapment; how someone is caught by their own devices (like their personal bias)
(G677) aproskopos – none (void of without) offense; actively inoffensive that is not leading into sin; passively faultless that is not led into sin; having nothing to strike against, not causing to stumble; without offense, not troubled by a consciousness of sin (presumed derivative of G4350)
(G4350) proskopto – beat upon, dash, stumble; to strike against; to be made to stumble by a thing (from G4314 and G2875)
(G4314) pros – in compounds it denotes…
STOP. You’re going farther down this rabbit hole than we have time for. You have seven minutes before your alarm will go off and you need to get back in bed.
Listen CAREFULLY to what they say when someone is courageous enough to share their offense with you.
Courageous = not deterred by danger or pain; brave
Yes, in these moments, it doesn’t feel like something you would want to call courageous to bring their offense to you but feedback, whether right or wrong, is always a gift you should welcome.
This feedback will cause you to pause and reflect not only on your delivery but on the motivation of your heart for delivering that word. Lean hard on Holy Spirit to discern if the motivation of your heart was pure and if the message you delivered was pure; uncontaminated by self. When you recognize any contamination in the word or the delivery, immediately make amends.
Amends = make minor changes to make it fairer, more accurate, or more up to date
You are to unapologetically speak the truth in LOVE but you have not been perfected in LOVE and therefore need to guard against unintentional offense that causes division.
When Jesus said He did not come to bring peace but a sword, what do you think He meant? Exactly. The Bible is called the Sword of the Spirit. This is the weapon you are never to put down. This is the weapon that will pit people against each other. Guard yourself that ABSOLUTELY NOTHING but my Word causes offense between you and another.
Most offense people experience in relationship with My children has NOTHING to do with My Word or who I am but rather who My children PORTRAY Me as. Represent Me well.
People will be drawn to Me by pure LOVE. Once they are drawn to Me, I can handle “cleaning their lives up,” much like we’re cleaning yours up now.
Remind Me - how many years have you been following Me and I’m still having to teach you these basic principles?
39 years.
Be patient with people and patient with the process. You have offended many and been offended by many over those 39 years. Have grace for the process of offense others must go through - it’s all part of the process.
Sweet dreams, My precious, tender-hearted, Little One. Sweet dreams.
LOVE,
Daddy
Romans 9:33
