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I’m sure you’ve noticed that people these days are very easily offended. In fact, you hear people talk about the “I am offended” culture or the “easily offended” culture. Sadly, many think they have the right to be offended about almost anything, and if they are offended, everyone else must affirm their right to be offended and make drastic changes to keep from offending them.
All that is necessary for a claim to be taken seriously is for the claim to be offered. After all, being offended is an emotional state or response, so how can you deny that the person who claims to be offended has not been genuinely offended? And as Christians we can fall into this same pattern of claiming to be offended when we face opposition to or criticism of our beliefs.
Now obviously, there are legitimate times when people offend others, but the term “offended” has been taken to new levels these days, instead of maybe “bothered” or “disagreed.” So, living in this “I am offended culture,” how should we as Christ-followers respond?
First, let’s establish that having hurt feelings or allowing someone to offend you is a choice, and it is often self-imposed mental cruelty. Why allow others to be in charge of your feelings? Proverbs 19:11 says, “A person’s wisdom yields patience; it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense.” There is no glory in being offended, no status to be gained. In fact, someone who is easily offended is most likely very insecure in who they are.
So, first, those of us who are believers should be firmly established in who we are in Christ, and therefore not be threatened by this “I am offended” movement. We live in a diverse culture and we believe in freedom of speech, therefore, being offended is simply part of life at times. For example, we’ve seen a continued effort to remove all symbols of Christianity from the public square because they offend some people. However, those who claim to be offended are not actually harmed in any factual way, but rather are allowing themselves to be put in an emotional state just because they are confronted with someone else’s beliefs.
So, the first thing I want to say about this “I am offended culture” is that as Christ-followers, it should not include us. Jesus told us that in this world we will have persecution—we would be offended. He certainly was but he knew who he was and what he came to do. We, too, can follow in his steps to have the wisdom to overlook many offenses and simply not react to them.