Acts 24:16  “Because of this, I always try to maintain a clear conscience before God and all people.” (NLT)

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Sometimes, we offend people simply by walking into the room. 

At other times, we write something, quote someone, or offer an opinion that others find displeasing. It’s amazing how quickly some people question our motives or accuse us of intentional harm when we are, in fact, engaged in a meeting of the minds, seeking clarity and wisdom.

A reader of a newsletter I contribute to wrote to us every week to express her displeasure with some of the articles we curated and presented for consideration. Every week. Unpleasantness abounded. 

I wrote her and explained why we included information she might not wholeheartedly agree with. Sometimes, we need to understand where people are coming from with their thinking. It’s good to know how they arrived at their conclusions. Well-meaning and thoughtful friends can disagree without shouting at one another. 

My carefully crafted note did no good. Zilch. Zero. Nada. The harassment continued. So, we blocked her from the mailing list. 

Some people don’t know how to get along, or, it appears, want to. They are deliberately and insistently belligerent. Bellicosity is their calling card. 

Paul had been a tough guy who didn’t mind punching you in the face until he met Jesus and found himself flat on his back, looking up but seeing nothing. What he heard, however, changed him forever. He went from a man with a plan to deliver rough and tumble justice to a man who spoke the truth in love without any intention of being misunderstood as a jerk. 

As we left Washington, D.C., yesterday morning, a few dozen police officers on bicycles were moving toward their objective with some degree of urgency. A man running in the opposite direction took offense at the police’s hasty actions. He did not say anything to them, but his expression was beyond angry and on the verge of disgust. 

It was a good time to hop on the train and get to the airport. 

In the world we live in, where everyone, it seems, has a personal list of ready offenses, it’s good to learn from Pugnacious Paul how to stop being offended so easily, and at least equally, to stop being so offensive. 

There are plenty of jerks in the world. You and I don’t have to add to their number. 

Learn the lesson: Maintain a clear conscience before God and people. And if I should stray from this path, feel free to nudge me back in the right direction. I cannot help others leave their jerkiness behind if I am stimulating it with an unnecessary affront. 

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I will join Paul in seeking to maintain a clear conscience before God and people.

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Our Father, deliver me from being easy to offend. Deliver me as well from being offensive. Empower me to live and love with a clear conscience. Amen.