The Power of Being Offended
There was a day when it was a bad thing to be offended. It was a feeling we actually avoided. Nobody liked to feel the pain of experiencing something offensive. I'm not sure that is the case anymore. It seems that the quickest way to get what you want these days is to proclaim from the mountain tops that you are offended. With the echoing of those words, people tend to immediately back down and attorneys will appear out of nowhere, climbing out of storm drains and man hole covers.
There is power in being offended. I can now force great things from society if I am offended by something as the masses will have to contort to make sure I am no longer upset. Strangely, things have seemed to flip flop as there once was a time where the offended was the victim of a situation, but today it seems the offended can actually become the aggressor, using their emotional stress to bully others into submission. As a result, things that are truly offensive get diluted in a lake of trivial matters.
I'm afraid society is losing the ability to simply "get over it" when it comes to a lot of issues. Sometimes I wonder if we have not started to swing the pendulum of civil rights too far in some categories and instead of fostering a more tolerant society, have actually prolonged the plight of those who have worked so hard before us to level the playing fields of the oppressed. Instead of tearing down barriers, the power of offense has now begun to rebuild the dividing walls between us.
As civil issues begin to gain momentum and society begins to change, sometimes we need to stop pushing the pendulum and allow it's momentum to bring it into balance, lest we push too far and swing things too far the opposite direction.
At some point its healthy to grow some thicker skin and endure the remaining sentiments of ignorance, responding with love rather than offense as forgiveness provides the final steps of healing for us all.
There is power in being offended. I can now force great things from society if I am offended by something as the masses will have to contort to make sure I am no longer upset. Strangely, things have seemed to flip flop as there once was a time where the offended was the victim of a situation, but today it seems the offended can actually become the aggressor, using their emotional stress to bully others into submission. As a result, things that are truly offensive get diluted in a lake of trivial matters.
I'm afraid society is losing the ability to simply "get over it" when it comes to a lot of issues. Sometimes I wonder if we have not started to swing the pendulum of civil rights too far in some categories and instead of fostering a more tolerant society, have actually prolonged the plight of those who have worked so hard before us to level the playing fields of the oppressed. Instead of tearing down barriers, the power of offense has now begun to rebuild the dividing walls between us.
As civil issues begin to gain momentum and society begins to change, sometimes we need to stop pushing the pendulum and allow it's momentum to bring it into balance, lest we push too far and swing things too far the opposite direction.
At some point its healthy to grow some thicker skin and endure the remaining sentiments of ignorance, responding with love rather than offense as forgiveness provides the final steps of healing for us all.
What we expect of the world and see in the sin filled world should be completely different than what we see in God's chosen people. His word says to be set apart, a peculiar people zealous of good works. No grumblers or complainers in God's family.
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