I have learned that any day I spend angry and offended is a wasted day. Life is too short and too precious to waste any of it. The older a person gets, the more they usually realize that, but I am sad to say that some people never learn it. The society we live in today is filled with angry, easily offended people who are stressed-out and tired most of the time. Jesus tells us we are not “of” this world (see John 8:23); we do live in the world, but we are not to be of the world in terms of behaving the way society does and reacting to situations the same way it does. Jesus teaches us a better way to live. I always like to say that Christianity begins with accepting Jesus as our Savior and then it is continued in a lifestyle based on His teachings. Jesus told the disciples that although the law said, “an eye for an eye,” which meant whatever someone does to you, do it back to them, now He was saying to forgive your enemies, to love and pray for those who used and abused you. The people who heard Him were amazed, they had never heard of such a thing.
He taught them many other things that would be an entirely new way of living, but it was one that would produce a quality of life they previously had not known.
We can choose to live according to God’s Word rather than to live the world’s way or to give in to fleshly thoughts or emotions. The Bible tells us to walk in the Spirit (see Galatians 5:25) and in order to do that we must manage our emotions rather than allowing them to control us. We must take responsibility for our responses to daily events, especially the little offenses that tempt us to be angry.
Making the decision to not be offended does not always change how we feel about the way we were treated. One of our biggest problems is that we usually allow our feelings to direct our choices and thereby never get around to making the decisions we need to make. We must realize our feelings will eventually catch up with our decisions, so we need to be responsible to make the right decisions and let the feelings follow. Becoming established in the thought I am difficult to offend can prepare you ahead of time for any offense you may face. It will set you up to forgive and release the offender, which will keep you out of the snare of unforgiveness.
A wise person refuses to live with hurt feelings or offense in his heart! Life is too short to waste one day being angry, bitter, and resentful. The good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ is that our sins are forgiven and I believe we have been given the ability to forgive those who sin against us. Anything God has given us, such as forgiveness and mercy, He expects us to extend to others. If it comes to us, it should flow through us-and that should be our goal. When we are offended, we need to quickly call to mind the fact that God has freely and fully forgiven us, so we should freely and fully forgive others.
Think about It
Is there an offense you have been holding onto? If so, write it down on a piece of paper. Then rip it into tiny pieces and throw it away.
