On Taking Offence

Not that anyone has been offensive to me in recent history, but i'm done with 'taking offence'.
A few years ago, my mom decided she was 'giving up anger'. She didn't see any good reason to keep it in her life, so she decided to give it up... an ongoing process, i'm sure, but still kind of an awe-inspiring goal.
i feel the same way with offence.
Life is too short...
People are too important...
God is too big...
When i hear that phrase, 'i was so offended' ~ it implies "rights" & it's such a cultural thing how we're so conscious of our 'rights' & what is owed to us. The right to have a pleasant childhood, to have food, shelter, good customer service, no betrayal, no gossip or slander, the right to live a life free from pain, telemarketers & the opinions of others...
Who promised us these things? ~ i think giving up on any & all of our rights brings us to a place where we can be so easily used by God.
i see it in my son sometimes. He gets so wrapped up in being 'wronged' that he fails to see how the offending party might have been hurt in the first place. What if our first instinct when we were hurt were to run to God ~ & instead of furiously tattling, we asked Him...
the One who loves us *so*...
'Father, is there truth in this offence that is causing me pain?' ~ i've found most of the time when i'm offended, it's because there's some truth in there... and 'Father, is the one who hurt me, hurting?' ~ so often, the answer is 'yes'.
i know we all have moments of 'righteous indignation' ~ but i'm willing to guess that most of the time when i've been offended, i should've just let it go earlier than i did.
So, way back when, i wrote this song... & i still feel the same way as i did...

Giving Up

Givin' up, i'm givin' up
All my anger, frustration, & every expectation,
i give it up.
Givin' up, i'm givin' up,
All my rights & what i thought was owed to me,
i give it up...

1. i remember when you told me that the hardest part of being a living sacrifice is you wanna keep crawling off the altar,
i remember when you taught me, that i'm not gonna grow, i'm not gonna know His Love until i give it up... so i'm... (cho)

2. He was God, He is God, He will be God.
May my life serve, to bring Glory to God,
God does all things well... (cho)

bdg.
i expected my dad to be there for me...
i wanted my husband to be God to me
I thought that i could be God to my children, that they'd be healthy,
i expected her loyalty, but she turned her back on me
Don't they owe me an apology?
i have a right to be protected, to be loved and i expected, if i loved them, they'd love me too...
but i'm just gonna... (cho)