“Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them” (Psalm 119:165). I have had multiple people come to me asking me to forgive them for something they said about me, or even against me. They often say, “I hope I haven’t offended you.” I am happy to smile, and offer forgiveness. Many times I have told them that they did not offend me, and that what they are asking forgiveness for was not considered something that needed forgiveness. I am not saying that there are not times that people have said things about me, or against me that did not hurt me. I am saying that the power to allow those things to control me is in my control.
According to this verse, there is something that will help all of us to be unoffendable (just made up that word). If I will fall deeply in love with the Word of God; if I make my focus the truths and principles of the Word of God, I am going to be very hard to offend. I want the Word of God to so saturate my heart, mind, and soul, that I will become unoffendable (I like my new word). I see Christians who are so easily offended around me most days, and it causes me to wonder how closely they are really walking with God.
The answer to these kinds of questions is really obvious. If I stray from the laws and teachings of God, then my heart is on its own. My pride takes over the control of my life, and I am easily offended. If I allow myself to rise to be seated on the throne of my heart, then all other people become subjects that must bow to my authority and my opinions. When God’s Word is circumvented for my word, I am in deep trouble. I believe that God made each of us to need His Word if we are to live godly in Christ. We cannot claim to be living godly apart from time in His Word.
The most godly people I have known in my life were not the most educated people. They were not necessarily rich people (although people with money are not excluded). They were not the best looking, or the most popular, or the most humorous people. They were people whose lives were saturated with the Word of God. They were people who knew their Bible from a practical point of view, not an academic point of view. I want to be this man! I want to be a man that is not wise in the eyes of the world necessarily, but lives every day controlled by the truths of the Word of God. So, if you want to live a happy life today, stay in the truths of the Word of God, and enjoy the walk through life! Don’t be easily offended, God has this under control. Allow the truths of Scripture to be your shield today to harmful and hurtful things that might come your way … and smile!