Good morning!
Welcome to your morning coffee! May our Heavenly Father remind us today, afresh and anew, that we are not Him. Father, my heart is sinful and untrustworthy, and it cries out in arrogance and self-worship. Please help us to deny ourselves, and chase after your Will, your goals, your desires, your designs. Father, in the powerful name of Jesus, by the Spirit, make us more aware of our own pride, so that we can lay it down before your throne, and be free again and again, more and more, from its poison. Father make me hard to offend! Amen!
Your Morning Song: "Fear Is Not My Future" by Brandon Lake + Chandler Moore
Your Morning Scripture: Proverbs 12:16
Fools show their annoyance at once,
but the prudent overlook an insult.
...
How easily offended are you?
Easily?
Or is there some muscle in your patience?
As God's Children, filled by the Holy Spirit, all of us seeking to become more like Jesus, the last thing we ought to be is offended.
There is no room for it. No place for it. No need for it. No good from it. No wanting for it. No. Nothing. At all.
Why is it such a mark upon our lives? Why is it such a powerful temptation? Why do we so dearly love the flavor of such an act of pride that breeds only death?
What's wrong with being offended?
It's foolishness. It is unwise. It is in no possible way profitable by any use of the word. It is a subtle way to claim God's throne. It never leads to anything good.
We have no right, as sinners saved by grace, to be offended. And yet we so often do. Especially in small churches where we cannot hide from each other across an auditorium meant for concerts.
In our close proximity to others, first spouse, then children, family and friends, coworkers, the pride of each us comes crashing into the other. Being offended is a thing of pride and pride alone.
How mindful are we of our pride? Do we have any reason to be proud? No. We do not. And those of us who are wise in the Spirit, knowing what is good and what is not, will see the true culprit, pride, and reject it. And we will refuse to be offended by others.
Because we have no right to be.
Ultimately it all comes down to whether or not I am God.
Surprise. I am not. And so I have no right to pride, no right to be offended.
Be wise. Do not be a fool.
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