Greetings Dear Reader,
In the pursuit of
being lovingly unoffendable, I have stumbled upon a formula that seems to work
as an instant check engine light. The
idea that I do not want to be offended because I want to deal in love naturally
requires a moment of pause before I engage a response to that which is offered
as a slight, an insult, or an attack. In
our minds we play the line, “You cannot do that to me.”
Further, that
moment of pause can be used to check some vital areas of our thinking. When I respond with this thought, no matter
how it is worded, I have the opportunity to check some systems of thought vital
to not being offended. I can use that moment
every time it occurs to engage in love first.
The first thought
that I can engage is whether I do to others what I insist cannot be done to
me. If I take this position, I must ask
if I am doing this thing to others. I
must consider that if I am so offended by a phrase or action if I am guilty of
that action regarding others. Hypocrisy
is a glaring check engine light that we often ignore or do not see.
Another aspect of
this is that if I am unwilling to have something said or done to me, I must not
be willing for it to be done to others by a third party. I do not have to get angry or offended by the
injustice. I do have to work to end
it. We are not allowed to passively allow
others to be treated badly on any scale.
The requirement is that we lovingly and peacefully work toward justice
for everyone.
Every instance of
injustice or unkindness for us is an opportunity to check our hearts and minds. Before engaging our offense engine, we can
search to see if we can learn from the experience. We can choose to put others ahead of
ourselves out of love. We can love the
Father by holding our peace. The vilest
insult cannot reach me if I cling to the Father. He promises to fight for me.
When I make sure
that I think through how I act before I respond, it yields natural humility, Dear
Reader. It causes me to take an extra
beat to check my engine to ensure that it is fueled by love and grace. It gives me a moment to focus on the Father
and following his Son. It allows me to
embrace peace and keep the engine light from blinking.
I am not required
to be offended. I am required to care. If I put my focus on loving others, I will be
able to fend off most offenses. I will
be able to better exemplify my commitment to love and grace. In this thinking, the journey can be sweeter
and the road less weary. We carry enough
that we must without overloading our lives with offenses we need not pick up.
Wishing you joy in the
journey,
Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus
said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of
Christ’s rule of the universe is like a homeowner. He liberally hands out new
and old things from his great treasure store.”
(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Every human
story is part of the great story that leads to the Father getting everything
back to Good.
Contacts for Aramis
Thorn:
#aramisthorn
Bookings: aramisthorn@aramisthorn.com
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