Learning Not to Become Offended

by Tommy Willis

(This article is an excerpt from the Aug-Sept 2002 edition of the Sabbath Sentinel)

“As a student of human nature I always try to examine why we do the things we do and why we react the way we do. It’s important to know ourselves and the danger of the human nature we were born with, and why we become offended. Scripture tells us that many Christians will become offended and hate one another as the end of the age draws near (Matt 24:10-13). This relates to the problem of not knowing ourselves and the danger of our human nature. Think about it: if the many Christians that become offended (that this Scripture talks about) would have seen the danger of their human nature, they would have seen more of the need to pray and draw close to God so that His Spirit would be there to help them react with mercy and forgiveness towards those who have done them wrong. If we will study the above verses, we will see that after Jesus says that many will hate one another and become offended, He then states “but he that endures till the end will be saved.”

This shows the connection between not becoming offended and enduring till the end! Many of the things that happen will be testing points to see how much we are going to seek out God so that we can stay with His love and forgiveness—to stay focused on the narrow road. The problem is, we take things in the personal hurt the way the world does when others react badly to-wards us. We get our feelings hurt and often become offended. This is why Jesus said in the same Olivet prophecy that if we would “watch and pray always,” we would have His strength to endure through all these things. “Great peace have they which love thy law and nothing shall offend them” (Ps 119:165). This does not mean just to know the doctrines and laws of the Bible intellectually. One must build up a close personal relationship with Christ, the Living Word, and have enough of His Spirit…”

To read the rest of this article, which starts on page 5, click this link:

http://biblesabbath.org/tss/496/tss_496.pdf