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ENJOYING EVERYDAY LIFE
BaitDon’t Take the BY JOYCE MEYER
of Offense
Do you ever get offended? Has someone ever hurt your feelings, In other words, when somebody tries to give you offense, you decide
opening the door for strife, anger or a damaged relationship? whether you take it or not.
Every day, we are presented with multiple opportunities to get offended. You may be thinking, Joyce, it’s so hard not to take offense sometimes!
It can be as minor as someone cutting us off in traffic or stealing our I understand how you feel, but we can refuse to be offended because
parking spot. Other times we can feel deeply hurt by a friend’s rude or God gives us self-control, which is a fruit of the Spirit (see Galatians
harsh comment. 5:22-23). This means we can control ourselves with God’s help and take
responsibility for how we respond to life’s situations.
What many people don’t know is that offense is one of Satan’s greatest
tools to steal our peace and rob us of God’s blessings. It’s easy to deflect our problems and place the responsibility on some-
one else, thinking, If you didn’t upset me, then I wouldn’t feel this way or
The word “offense” comes from the Greek word scandalon. It is an If you would just do this, then I would be happy.
interesting word that literally describes a trap used to hold bait in order
to lure animals. But the truth is we will never be free from any problem as long as we’re
blaming somebody else. I’m not saying other people don’t do anything
Similarly, offense is the bait the enemy uses to trap us. He will use peo- wrong; however, we can’t control what everyone else does, but we can
ple’s words and actions to get our minds churning and stir up our emo- choose how we are going to react!
tions. He uses this bait to lure us into a lifetime of bitterness, resentment,
unforgiveness, strife, hatred and revenge. First Corinthians 13:5 says love “is not self-seeking, it is not easily an-
gered, it keeps no record of wrongs” (NIV). Love is a choice! I can choose
I often say that Satan sets us up to get us upset. He knows our weak- to forgive and let it go, or I can hold on to the offense and let the hurt
nesses and what buttons to push to send us over the edge. turn into something even worse.
The good news is we are smarter than our enemy because we have the For example, sometimes an offense starts out like a paper cut. It’s seem-
mind of Christ! (See 1 Corinthians 2:16.) We can know the truth of God’s ingly small, but if you don’t take care of it properly, it can begin to fester.
Word and don’t have to take his bait. In time, it can become infected and cause you a lot of pain.
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