“We have no reason to be anxious, every reason to be joyful, and fewer reasons than we think to be offended.”
I only started reading Kevin DeYoung a few months ago but he is quickly making his way to the top of my reading priority list. In this recent post titled “Why Are We So Offended All The Time?” he delivers a meditation on being offended:
Offendedness is just about the last shared moral currency in our country… We don’t discuss ideas or debate arguments, we try to figure out who is most offended… Whenever someone makes a public gaffe, whether real or perceived, critics storm the microphones to let the world know how offended they are. Why is everyone in such a hurry to be hurt?
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We live in an emotionally fragile culture. We are in touch with every hurt past, present, and perceived. We are the walking wounded and we want everyone to know. Which is too bad, because when people are genuine victims–profoundly, egregiously wronged–they deserve not to be lumped in the same category with those who got picked last for kickball or turned down for their church’s “special music.”
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As Christians, we worship a victimized Lord. We should expect to suffer and should have particular compassion on those who hurt emotionally and physically. But we do not resemble the Suffering Servant when we take pains to show off our suffering… if we are misunderstood or even reviled let’s not go after short-lived and half-hearted affirmation by announcing our offendedness for the world to hear. Every time we try to make hay out of misplaced calumnies, we hasten the demise of Christianity in the public square. As offendedness becomes the barometer of acceptable discourse, we can expect further marginalization of Christian beliefs.
These are excerpts – read the whole thing here
