Taking Offence and Getting Angry

I've heard that being offended is a choice - that people can choose not to be offended. However, there are many things that people say and do that are genuinely offensive, and I don't think it's just that the people who are offended by offensive people have thin skin.

I think that the choice not to be offended is much like the choice not to be angry. You always have that choice, but sometimes it's a difficult choice to make, especially when other people intentionally make it difficult. I think that, if a person becomes offended, it's not entirely their fault, if someone offends them, just as it's not entirely a person's fault if they get angry when someone else "makes them angry."

Still, the ability to control such feelings as anger and offendedness is a skill that can be developed. With conscious effort, people can grow resistant to offence, though I think that some people simply don't bother to. Some people seem to think that if someone else offends them, they have a right to feel offended. Similarly, I'd guess that other people claim to have the right to be angry if someone makes them angry, but the Lord has spoken against both of those emotions. We should try not to get angry or offended, no matter how much other people offend or anger us. It won't always be easy, and we won't always succeed, but we should always try.

Some people will offend or anger you by accident; don't take your emotions out on them - they didn't mean anything by it. Others will try to offend or anger you on purpose; don't give them the benefit of the ability to influence your emotions - they don't deserve it. I think that taking offence and getting angry are choices - not easy choices, but choices we can control. If we really try, I think we can choose not to get angry or offended, and that's a choice that I think many people should try a bit harder to make.