Why Christians should never be offended

Today I was helping set up for a funeral service.

I walked in and asked how I can help. The grandson of the deceased lady asked what I do here, and I told him I’m a pastor. His immediate reply with a smirk was, “Oh, she hated pastors. I’m talking about that in my speech. How pastors are all a bunch of jackasses.”

No “thanks for helping us set up!”
No sensitivity to the vocation I dedicated my life to.

His cocky attitude really rubbed me the wrong way, and soured my mood the rest of the time I was helping them out. But I tried to remind myself that his grandmother was likely deeply wounded by religious leaders at some point in her life, and I can’t take that personally.

No matter how much I tried to tell myself that his remarks (and the sentiment of his grandma) had nothing to do with me, even if he could have been a bit more sensitive.

Then tonight on a run, I was listening to The Holy Post’s recent interview with David French. They were talking about Christians being offended by everything, most recently, the drag queen rendition of The Last Supper at the Olympic opening ceremony.

French talked about how a better response to something like that — something that attempts to be so jarringly offensive to a group like Christians — would be boredom instead of outrage.

Think about it: Imagine that the artists involved in crafting that ceremony go to all the trouble to mock The Last Supper, and all they get in response is a yawn. How many more times would they keep targeting Christian iconography?

No, they continually do things like that because it gets such a big response form the Christian world (and, because, we won’t bomb them like some other religions…but that’s beside the point). Like how a class clown keeps being obnoxious because the teacher and fellow students keep responding to his jokes with attention.

But more than that, are Christians called to be offended?

Or, are we called to defend Jesus’ honor, as many Christians claimed, especially this time around?

A few thoughts.

God is big enough to defend Himself.

You think the almighty Creator of the universe needs Craig from Baltimore to tweet back @TheOlympics?

Did Jesus defend Himself when they were mocking Him, spitting on Him, whipping Him, and nailing Him to a wooden slab? Seems like God has endured worse things.

If we are one with Christ, we can no longer be offended on His behalf either. I mean, if someone insults me, as the dude did earlier today, is it my right to snap back at him Oh yah? Well I’m different and you just don’t understand!

Christ was offended FOR us.

If I truly believe my identity is united with Jesus’, then I don’t have any reason to be upset. Not if I believe I’m on the team that will truly come out victorious in the end — through love, not through conquest.

Christians should have the attitude of, So what if they spit on us? So what if they hate us?

Isn’t that exactly what Jesus told us would happen?? (c.f. Mark 13)

Remember, there are countless Christians in the world today who are actually being persecuted. They are being arrested, tortured, killed, just for their faith in Jesus. They must look at our outrage over a televised event and think we’re a bunch of weenies.

Oh, how I WISH that’s what our persecution looked like! They’d say to themselves.

Offense is typically more about pride.

Because when someone insults us, as the guy at the funeral did today, our response should look like Jesus’. When people were hammering stakes though His wrists, He prayed for their forgiveness.

If we get offended because of our belief, it reflects more of a heart of pride than of godliness. When I was stung by the blunt remarks of the grandson, it wasn’t because I was trying to defend God, it’s because my ego wanted to show him that I was a different pastor.

I don’t know his story, or his grandmother’s.
I don’t know what the church has done to them in the past.
I don’t even know his name, to be honest.

So what right do I have to be offended before even trying to know and love the person?

The more we are beaten down, the more we are like Christ.

If we are truly Christians, then we believe that we have died to ourselves. The old Ethan has passed away and been resurrected anew in Christ. So what right do I have now to be offended when someone insults me? Like…so what? Or when they mock my culture or even my faith?

Now, people may just lie about us or start rumors about us or attack our individual character. I think these are slightly different, in that they’re simply false. And lies tend to run their own course and bite their own tail. But I would encourage us all to take a step back from outrage and offense and instead ask, why am I so upset? Is this a humble response, or is my pride just wounded?

I guarantee you that when we seek humility, we will be offended a whole lot less.

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