BY GREG CRUM
PASTOR, CALVARY TEMPLE

“Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come! It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.” Luke 17:1-3

Here in Luke, we read of one of the stark realities of this life, revealed by the Chief Truth-Teller himself, that it is inevitable that offence will come knocking at our doors. The solution? We need to “take heed” to ourselves and allow the Word of God in us to insulate us from the harmful effects of offence.

Friends, offence is a deadly arrow that the enemy has used from the beginning of human history to destroy relationships, split churches, and render the offended a spiritual handicap for the rest of their lives. Jesus warned his disciples to be on guard concerning offence so that they could deal with the offending activity and the offender in a healthy way. As we get closer to the Lord’s return there may be increased opportunities for us to become offended in the service of our Lord. This could cause us to miss out on the best that God has in store for us. For this reason and a few more to boot, we need to develop a good offense against offence, and quench this fiery arrow of the enemy before it has the chance to burn up our Godly rewards.

Now, before you can defend yourself against offence you need to be able to recognize it when it comes. So, what is offence, Biblically speaking? In John 6:60-61 we read of Jesus asking his disciples if his teaching offended them (Spoiler Alert: for the majority of them it did). In the Amplified Version of the Bible, verse 61 reads, “But Jesus, knowing within Himself that His disciples were complaining and protesting and grumbling about it, said to them: Is this a stumbling block and an offense to you? [Does this upset and displease and shock and scandalize you?]”

Did you catch the various elaborations the translators brought out from the original Greek language? If you did, you saw how that an “offence” is a stumbling block, something that upsets, or something that displeases and shocks you. If you dig deeper into the languages of the Bible, you read that the word translated “offence” in the King James literally means “to entrap, to trip up or to entice to sin.” Wow! Sounds like a dangerous situation to encounter, right?

So, in practical application, what are offences? Anything that someone does to you that upsets and displeases you has the potential to be an offence to you. They are sneaky words and deeds that seem to come out of nowhere to hurt and hinder. So much so that you catch yourself thinking, “I never would have thought they would have said/did that!” Of course, that aids in the effectiveness of offence’s poison, as often we allow the hurt to go heart-deep before we realize what is going on and who is ultimately behind it before we begin the counter-offensive.

Brothers and sisters, in this life someone will eventually say or do something that will tempt to offend you. You’ve got to remember who we wrestle against. It’s not flesh and blood. The genesis behind every offence is Satan. Don’t take his bait. Don’t fall into the trap. Recognize offence and turn the trap into an opportunity to see God’s love in operation in your life!

Greg Crum is the pastor of Calvary Temple in Lovely.