And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.

Luke 7:23 (ESV)

It’s nearly impossible these days to not be offended by something. It’s in the news and all over social media. No one is allowed to have their own beliefs any more if they do not fall under the banner of being politically correct. Everyone is offended by everyone else.

My neighbourhood has recently seen a string of vehicle and home break-ins. Not two or three. More like fifty or sixty. The entire neighbourhood is now on watch for a certain few people that have been caught on camera with suspicious actions. The community is on high alert, and rightly so. But it has started getting out of hand.

Photos of random people knocking on doors are being posted and those people are declared thieves – all they did was ring a doorbell. Recently the warnings have transferred from potential thieves and miscreants to Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Posts on the community social media page read something like, “JWs up the street caught on camera. Lock your doors and have your baseball bats ready.” People then comment that they’d rather have thieves in the area than JWs. I took offence at that.

When did it become offensive to share something you believe has value?

I’m not a Jehovah’s Witness. I don’t agree with all of their theology or methods, but I give them credit for their devotion and dedication. A lot of Christians could learn from them in that area.

Jesus made this statement in Luke after he’d healed people of diseases, plagues and evil spirits He’d restored sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf and life to the dead. He shared good news with the poor and people were offended by it.

In a world full of offence, where do you stand? Will you stand up for people who, like Jesus, purpose to do good or will you rally with those who would offer warnings of those same people?

Daily Bible reading: Judges 1-2, Luke 7:1-30