That is a good question! I have been thinking about this lately and have decided to write about it using an amazing collection of books called the Bible.
First to deal with the latter question "not to offend?" Yes formed by itself it doesn't make for a grammatically correct question, but go with me on this one.
Basically this question means "is it okay to offend people?" That is how I'm posing it anyway. So is it okay? Well to answer in simplest terms, no. It is not okay to offend people. Let me explain, because I may sound as if I am contradicting myself later. If you are merely trying to go out of your way to offend someone or hurt someone's feelings, then it is very wrong, in fact it is down right dirty. Your motives are obviously in the wrong place. When you are trying to hurt someone's feelings, then it can be considered hatred, correct?
Proverbs 10:12 NLT
Hatred stirs up quarrels, but love makes up for all offenses.
"But love" I love that phrase! God is love, wouldn't you agree? And God is truth, isn't that true? Well then isn't it safe to say that if we speak truth with love, then we are not in the wrong even if we offend someone, correct? Truth be told, yes! We will not be in the wrong if someone gets offended, because our intent was merely to tell the truth. Unfortunately, there will always be someone who gets offended by the truth.
I hope I am making sense.
It all boils down to our motives. If our motives are impure, then we are setting ourselves up for a world of hurt. If our motives are good and intentions pure, then we are more likely going to be heard. You may ask, "what if our heart is in the right place, but we offend someone anyway?" I have answered this because there is always going to be someone in the world who is going to be offended by whatever you say no matter how pure your motives are, especially if it's the truth. There is nothing you can do about that. Does that mean stop expressing your opinion or telling the truth? Of course not! If we all were afraid of telling the truth then the Good News about Jesus Christ would have been snuffed out long ago!
Acts 28:30,31
For the next two years, Paul lived in Rome at his own expense. He welcomed all who visited him, boldly proclaiming the Kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ. And no one tried to stop him.
Acts 19:8
Then Paul went to the synagogue and preached boldly for the next three months, arguing persuasively about the Kingdom of God. [emphasis added]
"Boldly arguing persuasively" Arguing can be viewed in two different ways.
1. Many of us view it as fighting over or about something.
Here is an actual definition of "arguing" and this is the type Paul was using in Acts.
2. Give reasons or cite evidence in support of an idea, action, or theory, typically with the aim of persuading others to share one's view.
So if Paul was afraid of offending people, then he would not have done what Jesus wanted him to do and the amazing books he wrote would be non existent. He had to boldly speak the truth. The truth being, Jesus.
Now to the first half of the question: "To offend?" Should we offend? Well I believe I already answered that. Yes! In speaking the truth, offense is bound to follow, in fact it is inevitable! But the truth needs to be told.
You want to talk about someone who offended people every time he opened his mouth? I do, because his name is Jesus and He is worth talking about. He was the ultimate offender. He offended the Pharisees and Sadducees left and right. Did He go out every day thinking, "hmm...How can I offend the people of religious law today?" Of course not. The people of religious law set themselves up for offense. When they asked a question and Jesus answered truthfully, they didn't like what He said and turned away in offense.
Of course, there was that one time when Jesus truly put them in their place.
Matthew 23 NLT
Jesus Criticizes the Religious Leaders
1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 2 “The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses.[a] 3 So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach.[Hypocrites] 4 They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden. [basically they're heartless]
5 “Everything they do is for show. [They are fake] On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels.[b] 6 And they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the seats of honor in the synagogues. 7 They love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi.’[c] [They have a holier than thou complex]
8 “Don’t let anyone call you ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one teacher, and all of you are equal as brothers and sisters.[d] 9 And don’t address anyone here on earth as ‘Father,’ for only God in heaven is your spiritual Father. 10 And don’t let anyone call you ‘Teacher,’ for you have only one teacher, the Messiah. 11 The greatest among you must be a servant. 12 But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
13 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces. You won’t go in yourselves, and you don’t let others enter either.[e] [ooo ouch! I don't know about you, but that sounded like an offense]
15 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn that person into twice the child of hell[f] you yourselves are!
[sounds like a burn to me]
16 “Blind guides! What sorrow awaits you! For you say that it means nothing to swear ‘by God’s Temple,’ but that it is binding to swear ‘by the gold in the Temple.’ 17 Blind fools! Which is more important—the gold or the Temple that makes the gold sacred? 18 And you say that to swear ‘by the altar’ is not binding, but to swear ‘by the gifts on the altar’ is binding. 19 How blind! For which is more important—the gift on the altar or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 When you swear ‘by the altar,’ you are swearing by it and by everything on it. 21 And when you swear ‘by the Temple,’ you are swearing by it and by God, who lives in it. 22 And when you swear ‘by heaven,’ you are swearing by the throne of God and by God, who sits on the throne. [I wonder if they even flinched at this truth]
23 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens,[g] but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things. 24 Blind guides! You strain your water so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel![h]
25 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence! 26 You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish,[i] and then the outside will become clean, too. [The insults keep coming, don't they?]
27 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. 28 Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness. [Sad that most of the church today is just like this]
29 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you build tombs for the prophets your ancestors killed, and you decorate the monuments of the godly people your ancestors destroyed. 30 Then you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would never have joined them in killing the prophets.’ [This verse coming up (33) is my favorite]
31 “But in saying that, you testify against yourselves that you are indeed the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Go ahead and finish what your ancestors started. 33 Snakes! Sons of vipers! How will you escape the judgment of hell? [If you really want to offend someone, then go quote this scripture to someone]
34 “Therefore, I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers of religious law. But you will kill some by crucifixion, and you will flog others with whips in your synagogues, chasing them from city to city. 35 As a result, you will be held responsible for the murder of all godly people of all time—from the murder of righteous Abel to the murder of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you killed in the Temple between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 I tell you the truth, this judgment will fall on this very generation.
I had a little commentary going on in those scriptures. Not that I'm doubting your ability to see that, but it was just fun for me.
Back on topic. Judging by what you have read, do you think Jesus was offending the Pharisees? You may be thinking "well, duh! It was plain as day!" Jesus called the people of religious law "hypocrites" 6 times in this one chapter, not to mention verse 3, which is the definition of a hypocrite. So it's safe to say He called them "hypocrites" 7 times! He called them "fools" and "blind guides" a number of times. He accused them of being impure (27). He called them 'fake' and 'high and mighty'(5-7). He called them "snakes"(33). He told them what they will do in the future (34), they will become murderers (34-35). Just as their ancestors murdered the prophets of God (29-30), they will do the same to Jesus' followers.
Whew! That is a lot to take in! Can you imagine how the Pharisees reacted? Of course, they were offended, angry, furious, some possibly squirming in discomfort. And why is that? Because they knew Jesus spoke the truth, but they didn't want to see it, so what do they do? Plot the death of Jesus: a righteous man, a sinless man, a man preaching only the truth. This is what happens when we speak the truth. We get ridiculed, persecuted, mocked, accused of being a liar, slandered, and yes, even killed.
It is happening all over the world. People who are trying to share the love of Christ are being killed. Children are being betrayed by their own parents, because they found Jesus, but the parents didn't want to hear the truth.
Luke 12:49-53 NLT
49 “I have come to set the world on fire, and I wish it were already burning! 50 I have a terrible baptism of suffering ahead of me, and I am under a heavy burden until it is accomplished. 51 Do you think I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I have come to divide people against each other! 52 From now on families will be split apart, three in favor of me, and two against—or two in favor and three against.
53 ‘Father will be divided against son
and son against father;
mother against daughter
and daughter against mother;
and mother-in-law against daughter-in-law
and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.’[a]”
Jesus fulfilled this scripture in the Old Testament. Houses are divided because some have come to know and have a relationship with the Savior of the world and others doubt and choose to not believe.
Why is all of this division occurring? It occurs not just because Jesus said it would, but because of offense. The truth is offensive to so many of us. If someone confronts a subject that perhaps you are struggling with, it is hard to listen, because you take offense.
We should not be offended so easily. We should not be afraid to offend others simply because we are telling the truth. I want to tell the truth. The truth of Jesus. He is truth. My Father in heaven is truth. So why should I not tell the truth? Should I be afraid someone won't like it or they will take offense and start ridiculing me for speaking the truth? No!
So don't be surprised if there is a blog that I post that is on subjects that might be uncomfortable, because the truth is uncomfortable. But it needs to be spoken. I apologize in advance for any offense my future blogs may induce. It will of course be my opinion, but I will have scriptures to support those opinions, because they are not simply my opinions, they are my beliefs.
So, "to offend, or not to offend? That is the question"
I choose to offend. Not in the sense of intentionally offending someone, but with the intention of revealing the truth.
First to deal with the latter question "not to offend?" Yes formed by itself it doesn't make for a grammatically correct question, but go with me on this one.
Basically this question means "is it okay to offend people?" That is how I'm posing it anyway. So is it okay? Well to answer in simplest terms, no. It is not okay to offend people. Let me explain, because I may sound as if I am contradicting myself later. If you are merely trying to go out of your way to offend someone or hurt someone's feelings, then it is very wrong, in fact it is down right dirty. Your motives are obviously in the wrong place. When you are trying to hurt someone's feelings, then it can be considered hatred, correct?
Proverbs 10:12 NLT
Hatred stirs up quarrels, but love makes up for all offenses.
"But love" I love that phrase! God is love, wouldn't you agree? And God is truth, isn't that true? Well then isn't it safe to say that if we speak truth with love, then we are not in the wrong even if we offend someone, correct? Truth be told, yes! We will not be in the wrong if someone gets offended, because our intent was merely to tell the truth. Unfortunately, there will always be someone who gets offended by the truth.
I hope I am making sense.
It all boils down to our motives. If our motives are impure, then we are setting ourselves up for a world of hurt. If our motives are good and intentions pure, then we are more likely going to be heard. You may ask, "what if our heart is in the right place, but we offend someone anyway?" I have answered this because there is always going to be someone in the world who is going to be offended by whatever you say no matter how pure your motives are, especially if it's the truth. There is nothing you can do about that. Does that mean stop expressing your opinion or telling the truth? Of course not! If we all were afraid of telling the truth then the Good News about Jesus Christ would have been snuffed out long ago!
Acts 28:30,31
For the next two years, Paul lived in Rome at his own expense. He welcomed all who visited him, boldly proclaiming the Kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ. And no one tried to stop him.
Acts 19:8
Then Paul went to the synagogue and preached boldly for the next three months, arguing persuasively about the Kingdom of God. [emphasis added]
"Boldly arguing persuasively" Arguing can be viewed in two different ways.
1. Many of us view it as fighting over or about something.
Here is an actual definition of "arguing" and this is the type Paul was using in Acts.
2. Give reasons or cite evidence in support of an idea, action, or theory, typically with the aim of persuading others to share one's view.
So if Paul was afraid of offending people, then he would not have done what Jesus wanted him to do and the amazing books he wrote would be non existent. He had to boldly speak the truth. The truth being, Jesus.
Now to the first half of the question: "To offend?" Should we offend? Well I believe I already answered that. Yes! In speaking the truth, offense is bound to follow, in fact it is inevitable! But the truth needs to be told.
You want to talk about someone who offended people every time he opened his mouth? I do, because his name is Jesus and He is worth talking about. He was the ultimate offender. He offended the Pharisees and Sadducees left and right. Did He go out every day thinking, "hmm...How can I offend the people of religious law today?" Of course not. The people of religious law set themselves up for offense. When they asked a question and Jesus answered truthfully, they didn't like what He said and turned away in offense.
Of course, there was that one time when Jesus truly put them in their place.
Matthew 23 NLT
Jesus Criticizes the Religious Leaders
1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 2 “The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses.[a] 3 So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach.[Hypocrites] 4 They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden. [basically they're heartless]
5 “Everything they do is for show. [They are fake] On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels.[b] 6 And they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the seats of honor in the synagogues. 7 They love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi.’[c] [They have a holier than thou complex]
8 “Don’t let anyone call you ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one teacher, and all of you are equal as brothers and sisters.[d] 9 And don’t address anyone here on earth as ‘Father,’ for only God in heaven is your spiritual Father. 10 And don’t let anyone call you ‘Teacher,’ for you have only one teacher, the Messiah. 11 The greatest among you must be a servant. 12 But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
13 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces. You won’t go in yourselves, and you don’t let others enter either.[e] [ooo ouch! I don't know about you, but that sounded like an offense]
15 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn that person into twice the child of hell[f] you yourselves are!
[sounds like a burn to me]
16 “Blind guides! What sorrow awaits you! For you say that it means nothing to swear ‘by God’s Temple,’ but that it is binding to swear ‘by the gold in the Temple.’ 17 Blind fools! Which is more important—the gold or the Temple that makes the gold sacred? 18 And you say that to swear ‘by the altar’ is not binding, but to swear ‘by the gifts on the altar’ is binding. 19 How blind! For which is more important—the gift on the altar or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 When you swear ‘by the altar,’ you are swearing by it and by everything on it. 21 And when you swear ‘by the Temple,’ you are swearing by it and by God, who lives in it. 22 And when you swear ‘by heaven,’ you are swearing by the throne of God and by God, who sits on the throne. [I wonder if they even flinched at this truth]
23 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens,[g] but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things. 24 Blind guides! You strain your water so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel![h]
25 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence! 26 You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish,[i] and then the outside will become clean, too. [The insults keep coming, don't they?]
27 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. 28 Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness. [Sad that most of the church today is just like this]
29 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you build tombs for the prophets your ancestors killed, and you decorate the monuments of the godly people your ancestors destroyed. 30 Then you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would never have joined them in killing the prophets.’ [This verse coming up (33) is my favorite]
31 “But in saying that, you testify against yourselves that you are indeed the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Go ahead and finish what your ancestors started. 33 Snakes! Sons of vipers! How will you escape the judgment of hell? [If you really want to offend someone, then go quote this scripture to someone]
34 “Therefore, I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers of religious law. But you will kill some by crucifixion, and you will flog others with whips in your synagogues, chasing them from city to city. 35 As a result, you will be held responsible for the murder of all godly people of all time—from the murder of righteous Abel to the murder of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you killed in the Temple between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 I tell you the truth, this judgment will fall on this very generation.
I had a little commentary going on in those scriptures. Not that I'm doubting your ability to see that, but it was just fun for me.
Back on topic. Judging by what you have read, do you think Jesus was offending the Pharisees? You may be thinking "well, duh! It was plain as day!" Jesus called the people of religious law "hypocrites" 6 times in this one chapter, not to mention verse 3, which is the definition of a hypocrite. So it's safe to say He called them "hypocrites" 7 times! He called them "fools" and "blind guides" a number of times. He accused them of being impure (27). He called them 'fake' and 'high and mighty'(5-7). He called them "snakes"(33). He told them what they will do in the future (34), they will become murderers (34-35). Just as their ancestors murdered the prophets of God (29-30), they will do the same to Jesus' followers.
Whew! That is a lot to take in! Can you imagine how the Pharisees reacted? Of course, they were offended, angry, furious, some possibly squirming in discomfort. And why is that? Because they knew Jesus spoke the truth, but they didn't want to see it, so what do they do? Plot the death of Jesus: a righteous man, a sinless man, a man preaching only the truth. This is what happens when we speak the truth. We get ridiculed, persecuted, mocked, accused of being a liar, slandered, and yes, even killed.
It is happening all over the world. People who are trying to share the love of Christ are being killed. Children are being betrayed by their own parents, because they found Jesus, but the parents didn't want to hear the truth.
Luke 12:49-53 NLT
49 “I have come to set the world on fire, and I wish it were already burning! 50 I have a terrible baptism of suffering ahead of me, and I am under a heavy burden until it is accomplished. 51 Do you think I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I have come to divide people against each other! 52 From now on families will be split apart, three in favor of me, and two against—or two in favor and three against.
53 ‘Father will be divided against son
and son against father;
mother against daughter
and daughter against mother;
and mother-in-law against daughter-in-law
and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.’[a]”
Jesus fulfilled this scripture in the Old Testament. Houses are divided because some have come to know and have a relationship with the Savior of the world and others doubt and choose to not believe.
Why is all of this division occurring? It occurs not just because Jesus said it would, but because of offense. The truth is offensive to so many of us. If someone confronts a subject that perhaps you are struggling with, it is hard to listen, because you take offense.
We should not be offended so easily. We should not be afraid to offend others simply because we are telling the truth. I want to tell the truth. The truth of Jesus. He is truth. My Father in heaven is truth. So why should I not tell the truth? Should I be afraid someone won't like it or they will take offense and start ridiculing me for speaking the truth? No!
So don't be surprised if there is a blog that I post that is on subjects that might be uncomfortable, because the truth is uncomfortable. But it needs to be spoken. I apologize in advance for any offense my future blogs may induce. It will of course be my opinion, but I will have scriptures to support those opinions, because they are not simply my opinions, they are my beliefs.
So, "to offend, or not to offend? That is the question"
I choose to offend. Not in the sense of intentionally offending someone, but with the intention of revealing the truth.
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