Exposition:

earth, has been offended in one way or the other. Sometimes we may view offense as slight or a deliberate discourteous act. Some Christians sometimes as a result of offense carry a resentment against one another for the rest of their lives.

The word “Offense” comes from the Greek word, “Skandalon”, which means a snare or trap. It also means something that makes someone stumble or fall into a scandalous act. We can clearly identify according to Proverbs 6:16-18 that the very things that the Lord hates are the things which offend us. Such things include stern looks, telling lies against one another, shedding innocent blood, devising wicked plans against one another, giving false witnesses amongst others. These are actions that are always with us as human beings but since the God we serve hates them, we must endeavour to also live far away from them.

Offenses come in two forms. The first one is that, someone may offend you knowingly or unknowing. The second one is that your actions may offend someone also knowingly or unknowingly. It is either someone offends you or you offend someone. Interestingly, Christians often times fail to see the second one. We are always right in our own eyes such that when even we offend others, we are not able to realize but quickly get offended by opposite actions.

We should be discerning enough to identify when our actions offend others and be able to seek for reconciliation. In your sober reflections, consider some of these things as mentioned in Proverbs 6:16-18 and pray God guards you against them, that even if people would be offended through you, the consistency may be minimized.