Have I offended you?

 

The preacher approached the lectern and asked, "hands up all those who are going to Heaven!"

Everyone raised their hand. They were enthusiastic and glad to be saved. Everyone except one man sitting three rows on the left. The preacher noticed him and wondered, "what a humble man, he does not presume he'll be in Heaven."

He asked him, "why did you not raise your hand?"

The man replied, "I'm not sure I want to go to Heaven if all these people will be there!"

What I'm trying to say is that a lot of Christians are hypocrites. They are Christians in name only. Christianity to them is a badge, not a way of life. You know some of them. In your church, your community, your family even.

I don't know any of you. I notice who visits here and comments regularly and I am very grateful for your encouragement and support. But I also notice those who, for some reason or other, have stopped visiting. Perhaps they're busy. Perhaps they no longer Blog. Perhaps they're ill, or sadly for us, they  have moved on to another life with Jesus.

I sometimes visit their Blogs and notice it is still live. I leave a message. But they do not return the comment.

So I wonder ... have I offended them in some way? 

Have I ever offended you?

Come on, be honest and let me know. In private if you wish.

I don't set out to offend people; and I know perhaps sometimes my humour does not travel well. 

However, if something I said in a Christian post has offended someone then that's different. I try to be very careful in what I say in my Christian posts. So if what I say there offends someone, I don't mind offending them if it saves them from hell.

It is our responsibility, all Christians, to spread the Word of God as best we can. Through our writings, our Blogs, our church, the way we live and the way we treat each other kindly and with respect.

We should not be afraid to speak our truth as taught in the Bible. If it offends someone, then that is their business. At least they've read what we had to say and reacted to it.

When we read the parable of Jesus about the sower and how some seeds ended on the footpath, and others on rocky ground, and others among thorns and only a few on good ground, we think of the Word of God spread amongst many who would not listen. (Luke 8:4-15). 

The Word of God is meant for everyone. We have a duty and responsibility to evangelise and spread the Word of God to everyone, far and wide. Not to just Christians.

If the Word of God was meant for just Christians we would dig a long furrow and make sure that the seeds are planted one by one carefully in the furrow and none are wasted. But Jesus does not say that in this parable. He spreads the seeds far and wide and if people do not want to listen that is their problem. Not ours.

I'm offended I think

 

It seems to me that people today are too easily offended. They take offence at anything. Why don't they take the garden gate as well as the fence? If I were an ostrich I would be very offended at the bad publicity we ostriches get about burying our heads in the sand. This is not true. We can take offence at anything as good as the next man, or woman, or bird or anything for that matter.

In the olden days, when my great grand-mother, Aurelia Zephanaia theThird, took offence at something, she kept quiet about it. She did not have Facebook, Twitter and all the other social media outlets on which to publicise her offendability. 

Is there such a word as offendability? I am offended that people can just invent words as they like these days. I blame it on social media. We should ban all such opportunities to portray and broadcast one's reasons to be offended. These are not only puerile but they also encourage other fatheads who were not remotely offended to now join in and be equally offended even though they do not know or understand what they are meant to be offended about.

Once you broadcast the reason for your offence on social media, the chances are others will either join in and get offended just like you, or will start an argument publicly decrying the fact that you are offended. Either way, the outcome is not good. They should follow my great grand-mother's example and sit on a cactus and keep their offence to themselves.

I get greatly offended when Christianity is mocked an TV by so-called comedians and public influencers. If I were to write in to the TV companies the chances are I would be ignored, or probably sent a mealy-mouthed reply trying to pacify me.

I am even more offended that the Church, (all denominations), is/are not more vocal about this. They just turn a blind eye and ignore the insults to Christianity.

But then I remember. God can take our mockery, our insults and our anger. After all He took them all when hanging there on the Cross, did He not?

No doubt He will ask our Church leaders when He meets them face to face why they were ashamed of Him when He was mocked and insulted so.

What does offend you these days? Tell us about it. I promise not to be offended by it.