In 1 Samuel chapter 8 there is an interesting portion of scripture about this very thing. God had purposed that Israel should be led by judges rather than by kings because God Himself was already their king. So when Samuel came to retirement age he appointed his two sons as judges over Israel however, they were corrupt and accepted bribes. So the elders of Israel asked Samuel to appoint a king for them.
1 Samuel 8:6-7 But when they said, "Give us a king to lead us," this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. (7) And the LORD told him: "Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.
I think Samuel was on the verge of being offended at their request. It says he was displeased. Samuel had every right to think they were rejecting him because he had preached for years that God only wanted judges to rule over Israel. This seemed like a direct attack on all that he had stood for. But then the Lord stepped in and gave a little perspective. He in essence said, “Samuel you don’t have a right to be offended because it is not you they have rejected – they have rejected me.”
If you are kingdom minded – if you have any sense of working for the kingdom of God, then you have no right to take on a personal offense because it is not you they criticize, it is Jesus. If I witness to my neighbors and they reject me and shun me I cannot take that personally because it is not me they have rejected. It’s Jesus!
Just last week at Family Camp the speaker was sharing a testimony about a girl who had gone through many troubles in life – she had been raped and mis-treated – and yet her hearts desire was to minister to Muslim people. She was taken up with being a missionary. When I heard that I said to myself, “Praise God.” Then a thought came to me and I said to myself, “Why am I thanking God for the burden she has to reach Muslims?” Have you ever found yourself doing that very thing? Have you ever heard about the work someone else is doing and yet you thank the Lord for that ministry?
Then I realized it’s because she did not put that burden in her own heart. This has nothing to do with her. It has everything to do with what Jesus has put in her heart. It’s His ministry through her so she doesn’t have to take any criticisms personally, it’s Jesus they reject.
Some might say, “Shouldn’t we stand up for Jesus? If they have rejected Jesus, don’t we have the right to take up and offense for him?” Not at all! Jesus does not want us to take up and offense for him at all. This is one of the great problems in the church today. People tend to take up offenses of others.
The problem with that is that only the offended one can forgive.
Suppose you take up an offense for Jesus because you did something for him that someone else rejected. So now, because they rejected Jesus, in defense of him, you take on an offense. It seems right to stand up for Jesus doesn’t it! But here is the problem – if you are not the one they rejected then they really have no obligation to come to you for forgiveness. Then suppose somewhere down the road they get right with Jesus and they go to him and acknowledge that all this time they have been rejecting him and ask him to forgive them. Then suppose Jesus does forgive them – but you still have this offense against them. Now they are right with Jesus so you are the only one left in sin through your anger.
That takes us right back to our opening verse.
Matthew 11:6 Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."
Blessed is the man who is not easily offended because of me. In this sense it’s being offended for the reverse reasons. It’s because of mercy that some people are offended. That is exactly what Jesus was getting at when he makes his statement about the greatness of John.
Matthew 11:11-12 I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
The Pharisees found that to be very offending. They had established a religious system that very few people could penetrate. Rarely could a man attain their standards for rightness with God. They had themselves so high on the religious pedestal that no common man had any hope of measuring up. So when the Son of God comes along and says no one has been greater than John the Baptist they were offended because of his mercy.
How dare Jesus tell them that John was just as good if not better than them? That would ruin their whole system and take them out of power. Many people are offended because of mercy. But regardless of how or why a person gets offended an offended man is difficult to deal with because the only way to be offended is to be discontent with life and when you are discontent it doesn’t matter what others do – you are not about to listen.
continued tomorrow
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Medication: A Merry Heart
Larry the Cable Guy - proverbs.
1.A day without sunshine is like night.
2. On the other hand, you have different fingers.
3. 42.7 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot.
4. 99 percent of lawyers give the rest a bad name.
5. Remember, half the people you know are below average.
6. He who laughs last, thinks slowest.
7. Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.
8. The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese in the trap.
9. Support bacteria. They're the only culture most people have.
10. A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.
11. Change is inevitable, except from vending machines.
12. If you think nobody cares, try missing a couple of payments.
13. How many of you believe in psycho-kinesis? Raise my hand.
14. OK, so what's the speed of dark?
15. When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
16. Hard work pays off in the future. Laziness pays off now.
17. How much deeper would the ocean be without sponges?
18. Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.
19. What happens if you get scared half to death, twice?
20. Why do psychics have to ask you your name?
21. Inside every older person is a younger person wondering, 'What the heck happened?'
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