Being Humble & Offended
Is it at all possible to be truly humble and find oneself taking offense?
I don't think so. According to THIS DEFINITION of "offend," it seems to me that in order to be offended, one must assume malice on the part of the supposed offender. Being assumptive is pretty much the same as being judgemental, is it not? How can one be judgemental and still be humble? I daresay it cannot be done.
Clearly, there are 'offending' situations in life. All sin is offensive to the pure in heart. But since every single one of us is human and does sin, it goes without saying that not a single one of us is truly pure. Who am I to be offended by the actions of another? Oftentimes at church I hear that this person was offended by that person, or that person was offended by so-and-so's words, etc. I wonder if perhaps the offended person were to just not assume/believe the offender meant harm, how easily the situation could be remedied.
I believe that if I am being truly selfish, that I am bound to be offended left and right. I believe that if I believe more in the good of others instead of the bad, that life would be a millions times easier. I believe that if I am easily offended, then I am too judgemental, and that I need to humble myself. After all, who am I to judge? In my attempt to be a humble woman, which is NOT the simplest of tasks, I am reminded of the Sermon on the Mount where we are instructed on judgement. I know that if we all kept this in mind, there would be greater peace and less contention, and that would make us all so much more like who we ought to be.
Note: Is it a little ironic that I write on the topic of humilty? How UN-humble can a girl be to think she knows a thing or two & profess it to the world?! I'm very aware that this may seem a bit out of place, but I did try to do this with the Spririt and hopefully I was listening appropriately to the right promptings. ~CEW
I don't think so. According to THIS DEFINITION of "offend," it seems to me that in order to be offended, one must assume malice on the part of the supposed offender. Being assumptive is pretty much the same as being judgemental, is it not? How can one be judgemental and still be humble? I daresay it cannot be done.
Clearly, there are 'offending' situations in life. All sin is offensive to the pure in heart. But since every single one of us is human and does sin, it goes without saying that not a single one of us is truly pure. Who am I to be offended by the actions of another? Oftentimes at church I hear that this person was offended by that person, or that person was offended by so-and-so's words, etc. I wonder if perhaps the offended person were to just not assume/believe the offender meant harm, how easily the situation could be remedied.
I believe that if I am being truly selfish, that I am bound to be offended left and right. I believe that if I believe more in the good of others instead of the bad, that life would be a millions times easier. I believe that if I am easily offended, then I am too judgemental, and that I need to humble myself. After all, who am I to judge? In my attempt to be a humble woman, which is NOT the simplest of tasks, I am reminded of the Sermon on the Mount where we are instructed on judgement. I know that if we all kept this in mind, there would be greater peace and less contention, and that would make us all so much more like who we ought to be.
Note: Is it a little ironic that I write on the topic of humilty? How UN-humble can a girl be to think she knows a thing or two & profess it to the world?! I'm very aware that this may seem a bit out of place, but I did try to do this with the Spririt and hopefully I was listening appropriately to the right promptings. ~CEW
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