I recently came across an online post that said: “The world is all caught up in what offends everyone. We should be concerned with what offends God.” The more I think about those words, the more powerfully they ring true.
This past year has seen the issue of being offended reach new, preposterous heights. Any words related to “gender”, “race”, “morality”, etc. seem to offend almost everyone, especially in the Gen Z and Millennial age groups.
Seldom do I hear anyone asking the most important question: “What offends God?”
The Bible supplies one answer to this question in Genesis 19.
Shari and I just watched the 1962 movie, LOT, with Stewart Granger. Of course Hollywood tampered with the details, added and subtracted some things. As I watched I thought of how “offensive” the destruction of Sodom & Gomorrah is to the “woke” culture and how impossible it would be for Hollywood to make that movie again in our current “offended at everything” environment.
The destruction by fire and brimstone of Sodom and Gomorrah is the perfect illustration of one of the things (homosexuality) that OFFENDS GOD; so much so that His wrath “overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.”
One other note concerning Sodom and Gomorrah: Gen. 19:14 “So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, “Up! Get out of this place, for the Lord is about to destroy the city.” But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting.” Lot tried to save the two men who planned to marry his daughters. But when they heard the truth, they laughed at Lot, they thought is was all a big joke. Lesson: be careful what you laugh at. Oh, one more piece of advice: drop every friend who laughs at anything that offends God.
JEHOVAH destroyed everyone in both cities because they had become overwhelmed by immorality, namely homosexuality. The only survivors were Lot, his wife & his 2 daughters. And then because Lot’s wife “looked back”, which had been forbidden, she was turned to a pillar of salt.
How sad that we have a modern culture that is “offended” at this historical happening. And even sadder is how many professing Christians are “offended” at Bible instances of God’s wrath. God’s wrath is still very real, even hotter on those who profess to be one of His, but won’t stand against and expose sin. Eph 5:1 “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.”
Our prayer needs to be: GOD, HELP ME BE OFFENDED AT WHAT OFFENDS YOU.
Mike Sublett is a pastor at Hi-Land Christian Church, 1615 N. Banks St., Pampa, Texas 79065. Email him at pawdad@nts-online.net.
