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Allowing Love to Cover A Multitude of Offense
by Juanita Price
 
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1 Cor 13:5 - (Love) Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not
easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
I had a wonderful time with a group of women from a neighboring church, most
of which I had never met. The topic of discussion was love. It was no news that
the scripture the speaker chose to expound upon came from 1Corinthians 13. The
bible is so amazing in that right at the moment you think you have mastered
something in it, you are proven wrong. It is like a bottomless vat of revelation and
opportunities for growth.
With its logical flow, Chapter 13 reads like a perfectly organized symphony
whose musicians have no need to refer to the sheet music because they can play
with confident prediction verse after verse.
However, this time, the entire group was stomped when it came to explaining the
meaning behind the second half of verse 5. Verse 5 indicates, "Love is not easily
provoked". Each member of the group struck out when explaining this verse. As I
dug deeper into its meaning, the Holy Spirit quickened me with examples of
moments in which we feel justified as victims when we respond negatively
towards one another.
Here is what I found:
The word provoked comes from the Greek word, “Paroxuno” which means to be
stirred to anger, irritated, offended. In other words, sensitive.. Many of us are
accustomed to walking on eggshells and catering to sensitive people rather than
imparting the truth to them. Even though it may not feel good to them at first, the
truth will heal those sensitivities.
For the sensitive, if we are aspiring to get to a place of being not easily offended,
this does not mean that we should be magnets for attracting and disregarding
offensive behavior (i.e. disrespect). Rather this encourages the sensitive to love
with a Godly, healthy love which is not "easily" provoked, irritated, angered or
offended.
This scripture is the perfect anecdote for dealing with offense or unhealthy
obsessions with how we feel. It is also the perfect anecdote for addressing
unforgiveness and so-called justifiable anger usually embedded in the hearts of
sensitive, easily offended, tissue paper feeling individuals.
The way to combat sensitivities, misunderstandings, and offense, is to CHOOSE
to believe the best about those we are offended by regardless of the details.
Perhaps your offender has some character flaw that they can not see and the Lord
trusted you with it by allowing it to manifest towards you. At that moment you
have to decide what to do with this experience. Either you will make a mental
note that this is an issue for that person and begin to pray or you can stunt your
own growth by wallowing in offense, bitterness and the dishonoring of that
person.
Pastors especially deal with this all of the time and it tells them what and how to
pray for an individual and also how to instruct those assigned to them should
instruction be required.
I find that most people do not even realize they have hurt our feelings. Why not?
Because they never set out to do it. So, while we are being mentally tormented
and up at night, they are sleeping like babies. I always use my spiritual father as
an example of this.
Having been assigned by the Lord to sit under his training and oversight, over the
years he has hurt my feelings. I had a choice to make. Either I was going to
secretly or openly coddle my pain through offense and unforgiveness, or I would
choose instead to believe the best. The best being that although what he said or
did stung me, he did not knowingly hurt me, but had actually set out to help.
Why? He loves me and I believe he has my best interests at heart. Still today, I
remain grateful for every moment he had the courage to tell me the truth despite
my feelings and the potential risks that telling the truth can sometimes impose
upon relationships. Risk or no risk, we must still be truthful. His obedience to the
truth coupled with my conscious decision to believe the best has proved its virtue
in that it has done wonders for me personally and as a minister of the gospel.
The choice to believe the best has never, ever disappointed me regardless of the
GOOD or BAD intentions and choices of others. Instead, it has helped to bring
down the prideful places I had set up in my own mind. It helped me to let folks
off the hook who I was not sure I could trust. I now simply pass the trust "buck"
to the Lord.
 
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