Live At Peace... Nothing Shall Offend

Tomorrow is Election Day, and 2016 has already been a volatile one for politics. Heck, not just for politics.

It seems that everything anyone says or does leads to a debate.

Often those debates take place in a very public forum, on social media, where people feel the need to air their dirty laundry and to express their opinion about everything and anything.

Freedom of speech is a beautiful thing, but not everything necessarily needs to be said.

Yesterday I read a quote about how you can't take back a stone that was thrown or a word that was said... or typed, and as I've mentioned to Caleb far too many times the last few weeks, social media provides us with a false sense of intimacy.

We feel like we know everyone... and maybe we know too much.

With all that being said, it's easy to get offended. It's easy to read something and feel as though someone is calling you out. It's easy to read between the lines and find something that isn't there.

Everyone will have differing opinions. You can poll ten people in a room, people from similar socioeconomic and educational and religious backgrounds, and chances are you'll still get ten different opinions.

And that's ok... because our opinions are formed from our own individual life experiences, and that's the beautiful thing that makes humanity such a brilliant masterpiece most of the time.

I say most of the time, though, because that same sense of false intimacy gives us incredible courage, and we often say things that we would never say to someone's face...

Or if we would, then we don't have any manners.

And then there's the whole thing about being offended.

There's a little thing on your laptop called a mouse.

If you read something that offends you, you can just scroll down...

 But we don't. Because we're somehow convinced that we are justified to our exclusive opinion and maybe if we argue in just the right way it'll change somebody's mind.

Because it's really all about being right, right?

About pride, essentially...

And the thing about pride?

It's the antithesis of true love.

Love is humble and kind and seeks the good in other people. Love is not easily offended.

Love seeks out peace.

Love is really the only commandment we are given... but we struggle so hard.

Tonight, as I was reading in Psalms, a verse jumped out at me.

We were talking in Bible study about His Word and how it helps us overcome, and here it was...

"Great peace have they which love thy law, and nothing shall offend them." Psalm 119:165

Great peace...

And nothing shall offend them.

The word "offend" comes from the Hebrew word mikshowl, which means stumbling block.

When we are offended by something, we stumble... take our eyes off of the prize, the path set before us.

And we are told to throw off everything that hinders us.

Everything that is a stumbling block.

But here's the other thing. We're also told not to be a stumbling block to others.

We're told that we'll be known by our fruit, by allowing the light of Jesus to live through us.

The people of the  dark hate the light...

but Jesus is the light...

And we are told to love our brothers, our neighbors, like Jesus.

In Romans: If it is possible, as much as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

1 John 2:10- The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him.

So... not being offended, or not offending others.

But loving.

So... just keep scrolling... and then go post something encouraging, because the world has enough darkness but we can be the light.

Even on social media.

Even in politics.