Offended?

Offend - To be offensive to; to harm; to pain; to annoy; as, strong light offends the eye; to offend the conscience. or To oppose or obstruct in duty; to cause to stumble; to cause to sin or to fall.

This is according to Noah Webster's New International Dictionary of the English Language.

So when is it ok to offend someone? Only when it is for Christ's sake...

If I offend someone by pointing out their sin I may be considered offensive to them. They may feel like I am causing them harm... I may cause them pain, it may annoy them. I may be as a strong light that offends the eye.

Think about when you have been sleeping soundly... and the sun comes up and shines on our face. Do we pull the covers up over our head? Or welcome the light?

I know that when I am waking my children in the morning and I turn the lights on, their eyes immediately scrunch shut tightly... to block out the light. They were comfortable in the darkness.

This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. John 3:19

Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. John 3:20

And think about when you have been outdoors, in the sunshine, for a long time. What happens when you come inside? The house didn't seem dark when you left... but when you come back in it can be hard to see at first.

The parallel to a life with and without sin seems obvious.

Anyone who loves another brother or sister is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble. 1 John 2:10

When I point out the sin of another believer, a brother or sister in Christ, I do it out of love! I don't want them to keep on sinning, I don't want them to stumble. I don't want their relationship with Jesus to be damaged.

Have you been thinking all along that we have been defending ourselves to you? We have been speaking in the sight of God as those in Christ; and everything we do, dear friends, is for your strengthening. 2 Corinthians 12:19

We could get into a word war I suppose... but being offended is different than hurting someone's feelings. Hurting someone's feelings intentionally is wrong. Pointing out a sin so that they can fix it and sin no more is an act of love. If they feel hurt, remorse, guilt, anger, or sadness because of it, it doesn't mean I shouldn't have pointed it out.

If I have the opportunity to correct someone in love, and I pass it up... that's when they will truly be hurt. And so will I.

I could carry the burden of their sin just because I don't want to offend them. I've just allowed a wedge between them and God... and myself and God too!

At one point in time I hated to be corrected... it offended me greatly! It used to spur up all kinds of bad feelings when someone corrected me... but the more He worked in my heart, the more I desired to do things His way. And I can't fix something if you I don't realize it's broken.

Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid. Proverbs 12:1

A rebuke impresses a man of discernment more than a hundred lashes a fool. Proverbs 17:10

But I must be careful not to throw in condemnation. Leave it at rebuking. There is no need for me to decide their fate. Then I offend God...