People have always been easy to offend. However, there is a new generation that seems to have made it an artform. They take a benign statement, phrase, act, song or event in history, say it means something that it doesn’t, then shout “OFFENSIVE!” across all their social outlets. It doesn’t end there. Now everyone must be offended by it. If they had their way, whatever offended them would be smitten from the Earth as though it never existed. A lot can be said about why our society is in this mess (#participationtrophies, #nocopingskills). More importantly, we should be thinking about how we live and teach Christ in it. Here are some things to think about while living in an overly sensitive society.
Don’t be that person that pushes the issue. You know that people will be offended, but you do it anyway. You plaster it all over your social media outlets just for spite. That is part of the problem. Galatians 5:15 is true in the church and society, “But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.” In the same way, don’t stop doing what is right or good because of the sensitivity of others. Don’t allow their ignorance to curtail good works. There is a balance between the two that a love for others seeks to find (Gal. 5:14).
Another best practice when working with the easily offended is to speak with facts and truth, not opinions and feelings. This is something we should be doing anyway. The best option we have is to show people what the Bible says and the truth of the matter (Eph. 4:15). The sky is blue because the sky is blue. It doesn’t matter what anyone feels on the matter.
If we choose to engage in a discussion with those of opposite understanding on a touchy subject, we should think about what happens afterward. It is not likely that someone will say, “You know, you are right, and I am wrong.” However, we can converse with them in a way that might lead to more opportunities. We should talk in such a way that no one could rightly accuse us of being combative (2 Tim. 2:25; Jas. 3:13). We are not trying to win an argument. We are trying to win their souls. It must be stated that just because we play nice doesn’t mean they will, but that shouldn’t change who we are.
Finally, make sure the battles you decide to fight are worth it. In my opinion, it is not worth my time to try and convince between 6% and 20% of Americans that don’t believe we landed on the moon otherwise (Prov. 26:4-5). However, the existence of God and the deity of Christ, those are some subjects on which we should draw a line in the sand. We should seek to prick the conscience of those around us with the truth.