Continuing On the Offense

I thought I might add just one further thought regarding being offensive. I’ve learned that being offended is a choice many times. This is especially so when we are following someone who told us to “love our enemies.” A couple of weeks ago, I showed a movie in our church that was filled with foul language. Before we watched the film, I explained that this was going to happen. It was an honest depiction of the way some people talk in New York City (among other places). Now, you may ask, “Why would a pastor show a film in a church setting with bad language in it?” The answer is simple. The story was an important story that touched on people who see God as vengeful and belligerent. In a world where people speak to each other in the worst terms, tearing each other down, treating each other as worthless, how does God get through all the garbage to speak truth into our lives? We can be offended by people using such language, but that deters us from being sad that people use such language. We can join God in feeling hurt that people have come to a place where the only way for them to feel like they exist is to hurt, diminish or even destroy others even with their words. In the story a man comes to a place where he has to confess, completely and nakedly, the truth of his life. The truth sets him on a course to freedom, but the depiction of brutality by a “god-like” antagonist tells me that there are people who don’t yet know the love of God and the worth of their souls. The language, which represents a living reality, speaks to where people have been left, when they have no other experience of life and love. We can choose to be offended, or we can join God and Jesus in loving our neighbor, regardless of their language, their clothing, and the way they may treat us. It’s a tough job, but, in the kingdom of God, someone’s got to do it. Got to… Blessings, Geoff