Naked And UnafraidSample

Day 6: Unoffendable

Are you unoffendable?

Take a moment to really weigh the impact of that question. What if nothing could offend you? Consider if nothing was a scandal, a snare, or a stumbling block in your life. We become unoffendable when we aren’t caught up in what other people say to us or about us. You can think of it as becoming “offense-proof” when we actually trust God with everything and believe that all things really do work out for the good as Romans 8:28 promises us. And, in Psalm 119:165 it clearly says, “Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them,” (Psalm. 119:165 KJV). This has to be the common pursuit of all who dare to dance: be unoffendable.

We all have opportunities to be offended and to live in that moment. In fact, we live in a highly sensitive culture where it’s trendy to do so. But, being offended is exhausting and distracting. It shifts your focus from important things, and whatever consumes your mind controls your life. 

Being offended spills over into every area of your life—your family, friends, and all other relationships. I’ve talked to many, many people who quit going to church when they were kids because something happened that upset their parents—and most of them never went back. Generational blessings happen when people free themselves from the snare of offense.

If you live offended, you attract other people who are offended and healthy people will avoid you. When people are focused on living a positive life, they will quickly recognize offense and avoid it!

There are two stages of offense: feeling offended, and living offended. Feeling offended is unavoidable, but you can fight to not live offended. The line between the two can be foggy, but recognizing the feeling of offense and choosing to fight for freedom from offense will be some of the most important work we do. If you didn’t know you had a choice, don’t feel bad...  for years, I didn’t realize it was a choice either. And most people don’t. 

No one can offend you without your permission. When you truly own your story, you have the power to choose. To live unoffended means there’s nothing bubbling under the surface, there’s no holding on to something that happened or something that was said. It means moving on mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. 

Even though we all feel offended from time to time, it doesn’t mean we have to live offended. We can set down that feeling of offense and move our lives forward into peace and forgiveness.

Recall a time you felt offended. Were you able to move on from that offense, or are you still carrying it today?