I am Offended: the Coronation of Victimhood

I am offended.”

If I could ban the use of one phrase in the English language right now it would that one…or its pointed accusation corollary “You offended me.” Nothing shuts down a dialogue faster than that kind of passive aggressive and unproductive exclamation point of victimhood.

It caps the jar, stops the bottle, dams the river, and silences other people—even those speaking the truth in love—by pronouncing one has achieved victimhood status: “I am offended.” King me.

In our passage on 5 Principles for the Overcomer (from 1 Peter 2:21-23) we’re looking at verse 23:

When they hurled their insults at [Jesus], he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. (1 Peter 2:23)

Jesus didn’t say, “You offended me.”

He didn’t ever say, “I am offended,” though He had every right to be.

John 18:19 Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching. 20 “I have spoken openly to the world,” Jesus replied. “I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret. 21 Why question me? Ask those who heard me. Surely they know what I said.” 22 When Jesus said this, one of the officials nearby struck him in the face. “Is this the way you answer the high priest?” he demanded. 23 “If I said something wrong,” Jesus replied, “testify as to what is wrong. But if I spoke the truth, why did you strike me?” 24 Then Annas sent him, still bound, to Caiaphas the high priest.

Work your way through the entire questioning, sentencing, and crucifixion time frame in any of the Gospels and you will see that Jesus…never once…attributed victim status to Himself. He didn’t crown Himself with offense.

He spoke the Truth. One of the officials, striking Jesus in the face, demanded an answer to a yes/no question that failed to recognize who the real High Priest was. So Jesus spoke statements of Truth and asked open-ended questions to keep the dialogue going all the way to the last.