No Offense

Where I teach in a Christian high school, it is not uncommon to hear the phrase “no offense” in the context of someone critiquing something about someone else. I often tell my students that people only use that phrase when what they are saying actually is offensive. There have been instances when I have called out a student who said something offensive, only to be told either that the person he spoke to was not offended (at least outwardly) or that the person should not be offended. Sometimes, the offending student will even quote Psalm 119:165, Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them. Even I can admit to having used that verse as a child and teenager when I did something that offended someone else.

While it is true that we should not be offended by what others do, say, or think, we all can become offended at times. The children’s saying “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” is not true. Words have the ability to injure just as much as or even more than actions, but the effect is unseen. When my daughter falls and scrapes her knee, the wound is easy to identify and treat with some peroxide and a Band-Aid. However, when I speak too harshly to her, there are no Band-Aids for that wound.

As I considered the statement …nothing shall offend them, I also thought of similar verses in the Bible that talk about offending others. In the Gospels, Jesus speaks of those who have offended …these little ones…; Proverbs mentions the …brother offended…; and in I Corinthians 8:13, Paul states, Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend. In this same chapter, Paul discusses the controversies of eating meat that was sacrificed to idols and celebrating different holidays. He tells the people that if they do not have a problem with it personally, they should not criticize those who do take issue with these things. Romans 14:19 says, Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another. The Word of God teaches us that our words should be ones of peace and edification, giving no offense to another.

I often try to consider this: if someone heard the way I spoke to others, could I still be an effective witness to that person? Would my conversation and actions deter someone from coming to Christ, or through the witness of my words, would I be able to point them to the Saviour? As we speak today, let us be careful to give no offense.

by Vicki Voorhis

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