offended

Offended.

A word that my husband has vehemently banned from our household.

People seize opportunities to become offended at the drop of a hat.

Mainstream media latches onto a public figure's words and the crowd goes wild.

Rifts are formed for decades following a ruthless argument between friends or family.

Most catastrophic of all is the widespread belief that Christians are some of the most judgmental, most easily offended people.

And sadly, for some, this is true.

But this is not God's intention for us.  As Christians, we have two biblical obligations in this arena.

The first is to ensure that our speech is thoughtful, free from provocation and insult.

"Pleasant words are a honeycomb, 

sweet to the soul and healing the bones." - Proverbs 15:24

"Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt..." - Colossians 4:6

"A man who lacks judgment derides his neighbor, 

but a man of understanding holds his tongue." - Proverbs 11:12

The second, and equally important, responsibility we have is to forgive one another.  We forgive, because he forgave us.  C.S. Lewis once said, "I think that if God forgives us we must forgive ourselves. Otherwise, it is almost like setting up ourselves as a higher tribunal than him." The same applies to forgiving others.  Seventy times seven (Matthew 18:21-2). Period.

"Be completely humble and gentle; 

be patient, bearing with one another in love." - Ephesians 4:2

"Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. 

Forgive as the Lord forgave you." - Colossians 3:13

"A person's wisdom yields patience; 

it is to one's glory to overlook an offense." - Proverbs 19:11

That isn't to say that we should allow those we love to sin. Conversely, we are called to lovingly point each other in a Godly direction.

"Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, 

you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently." - Galatians 6:1

"If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. 

If they listen to you, you have won them over." - Matthew 18:15

So, while we are called to make sure we are taking care with the words we speak, we are also implored to be, essentially, "unoffendable."

Our ultimate example carried his cross to Calvary with nary a word to his adversaries.  And with Christ's power in us, we can take note and rise to his standard of behavior.

Pause before speaking when someone throws a well-constructed insult or slur.

Hold your tongue when a family member casts the bait.

They may just be stressed. Or tired. Or hungry. We can all certainly relate.