There are people who get a kick out of being offensive. They probably call it something more like "edgy" or some other euphemism -- "It's all in fun" -- but it's really the shock and dismay they cause that thrills them. On the Internet they call them "trolls," but you know them in real life, too, I'm sure. Me? I don't like to offend people if I don't have to. Mind you, sometimes it's necessary, but I see what Paul wrote and take it seriously.
Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved. (1 Cor 10:32-33)So I try, so far as it depends on me, to be at peace with all (Rom 12:18). There are, of course, times when that can't happen. But how many times do we opt to "be offensive" when we don't have to? How many times do we decide "I will be myself!" or "I gotta be me!" or "Who cares what anyone else thinks? I'm just gonna do it"? Or say it? We often don't consider who we offend when we do what we do or how we do it.
There are certainly times when we offend people unnecessarily. On the other hand, sometimes we have no choice. Scripture is abundantly clear. To the world the cross in offensive (Rom 9:33; Gal 5:11; 1 Peter 2:8; 1 Cor 1:18-24). We know that the world hates Christ (John 15:18). So when I claim that Jesus is the only way to God, I will likely offend, but to do otherwise would be to deny Christ (John 14:6). When I declare that the Bible is the God-breathed truth (2 Tim 3:16), it certainly upsets some, but to do otherwise is to deny God. As Peter said when told to stop preaching the gospel, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard." (Acts 4:19-20)
Paul said, "All things are lawful for me" (1 Cor 6:12), but went on to say, "If food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble." (1 Cor 8:13) I would hope that we -- the followers of Christ -- would take a similar approach. We will offend with the truth of God's Word, but we should avoid offending for something less important. It's a part of loving our neighbor, of considering others as more important than ourselves (Php 2:3). It's just biblical.
9 comments:
I get it. And with regard to Christ, I have no way to argue against it (not that I would...just sayin'). But I feel the same about truth, or what I regard as being true, even when speaking about non-religious issues. Rejection of that which I believe or know to be true offends me, and as I strive to correct, there is a point at which the consequences of rejecting truth must be made known. To a very real degree, those consequences include accepting what rejecting the truth says about those who do the rejecting. To this I refer to those who simply find the truth inconvenient or incompatible with what they would prefer to be true. In this political season, I see a great deal of such, and it demands stronger talk, with the gloves taken off.
I hear you. I did say that there are times that we cannot not offend. The truth is one of those. Now, as much as it depends on me, I try to present it without offending, but I cannot not present it.
Although we do live in a time where some believe that they should be protected from ever being offended for any reason.
They want you to believe that, although they're perfectly happy if they offend you by saying that. That is, as is so often the case, the believe that in a purely and radically double-standard sort of way.
File under offensive for offensive sake. I saw a car with a window sticker that said LGBT, with a silhouette above each letter, a Statue of Liberty, a rifle, a pint of beer, and Trump's head. While I don't agree with pretty much anything the LGBT community has to say, and I'm not personally offended by this image, I do see how this could be an offensive sticker. Taking the meaning of one thing and subverting it isn't helpful. It's the same motivation behind people putting feet on the Icthys symbol. The intent isn't to state your opinion or belief, but to subvert someone else's.
Yes, David. And we should be different.
Although, I have to be honest. I'm not at all sure what that bumper sticker was trying to say.
LGBT-Liberty, Guns, Beer, Trump.
Oh, okay, that would be a Trumper being offensive. I get it.
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