I have at least three things in common with everyone I will meet, no matter what gender, race, sexual orientation, or political persuasion. The first is that we're both created by God as His image-bearers and placed in this moment in human history. The second is suffering. This person before me either has suffered, is suffering, or will suffer. The third is that we're both "sinners" -spiritually lost, dead, and bankrupt, in ourselves, in need of God's grace, forgiveness, and life found only in Jesus.
Being offended is the new pastime, but it doesn't have to be. Long before it became cool on social media to be offended, I took up the sport of holding onto offense. I've been a true pioneer in the art of brooding, a regular Tom Brady, a man ahead of his time, and I know I'm not alone in that. But holding onto offense is like the worst kind of sport you can play. The only ones involved in this game are you and those unwilling participants within the radius of the steam fuming out of your nostrils. Any spectators who get close enough to watch are more like witnesses of a slow train-wreck. Plus, there's no amazing come-back story where the score gets flipped in overtime and your team, the "good guys", win. There are no wrongs righted in the making of this movie, and there's no happy ending to it. The only thing that happens, in our cosmic protest, is we hurt ourselves and those closest to us. The offense game is addictive, though...
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