Offended? Get Over It!
Did that simple statement prick you just a little? Did you suddenly feel the need to go on the defensive? I used to be very easily offended. My mother said that if anyone "looked at me wrong" I would get upset, hurt and angry. I was "done" with them. At that time, I didn't see anything wrong with that. I was "sensitive".
One day, many years ago, I heard a great teaching by Joyce Meyer on the Spirit of Offense and how Satan uses it to bring division among believers. That message changed my thinking and my transformation was sudden...I did a 180 degree turnaround. The thought that my "sensitive" attitude could be a tool in Satan's hand to bring division in the church was repulsive to me! My mind had to be radically transformed!
Offense--that sensitivity in you--is rooted in pride and old emotional scars. Most of the time, offense comes from something a person says, does, DOESN'T say, DOESN'T do, or maybe just a "look". It's not about them, it's about YOU. Most of the time the offending person doesn't even realize what they have done. They "meant no harm". That's because it really has nothing to do with them. It has to do with what is going on in the mind of the offended person. Often it is nothing more than a personality/communication conflict. We are all different and communicate differently. Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
Offense is a spiritual seed. If it is not immediately plucked out of your mind and heart, if will grow into a root of bitterness and resentment. Offense is a negative emotion that feels terrible. It brings stress, pain, anger, raised blood pressure and in time will manifest in poor health. So again I say, Get over it...grow up!
Being easily offended is carnal and immature. When you get offended, you show people your emotional scars and spiritual immaturity. And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?
You can change your mind. Determine in your heart that you WON'T be offended, no matter what anyone says. You will see things from a different perspective. You will live in peace with your brothers & sisters. You will give them a measure of grace. You will grow in wisdom and understanding. When you truly know and believe in yourself, what others say or do will not hurt you.
And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.
Don't do it for others--although you will be easier to live and work with. Do it for peace in your spirit, mind and for your health. Change your mind, change your world!
1 Corinthians 1:10 1 Corinthians 3:1-3 Matthew 24:10
~~Arlene Luchie
Did that simple statement prick you just a little? Did you suddenly feel the need to go on the defensive? I used to be very easily offended. My mother said that if anyone "looked at me wrong" I would get upset, hurt and angry. I was "done" with them. At that time, I didn't see anything wrong with that. I was "sensitive".
One day, many years ago, I heard a great teaching by Joyce Meyer on the Spirit of Offense and how Satan uses it to bring division among believers. That message changed my thinking and my transformation was sudden...I did a 180 degree turnaround. The thought that my "sensitive" attitude could be a tool in Satan's hand to bring division in the church was repulsive to me! My mind had to be radically transformed!
Offense--that sensitivity in you--is rooted in pride and old emotional scars. Most of the time, offense comes from something a person says, does, DOESN'T say, DOESN'T do, or maybe just a "look". It's not about them, it's about YOU. Most of the time the offending person doesn't even realize what they have done. They "meant no harm". That's because it really has nothing to do with them. It has to do with what is going on in the mind of the offended person. Often it is nothing more than a personality/communication conflict. We are all different and communicate differently. Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
Offense is a spiritual seed. If it is not immediately plucked out of your mind and heart, if will grow into a root of bitterness and resentment. Offense is a negative emotion that feels terrible. It brings stress, pain, anger, raised blood pressure and in time will manifest in poor health. So again I say, Get over it...grow up!
Being easily offended is carnal and immature. When you get offended, you show people your emotional scars and spiritual immaturity. And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?
You can change your mind. Determine in your heart that you WON'T be offended, no matter what anyone says. You will see things from a different perspective. You will live in peace with your brothers & sisters. You will give them a measure of grace. You will grow in wisdom and understanding. When you truly know and believe in yourself, what others say or do will not hurt you.
And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.
Don't do it for others--although you will be easier to live and work with. Do it for peace in your spirit, mind and for your health. Change your mind, change your world!
1 Corinthians 1:10 1 Corinthians 3:1-3 Matthew 24:10
~~Arlene Luchie
