In our last episode, we discussed being offended and how we shouldn’t “pick up offenses.” We decided to dig a little deeper into that because so much of the world right now is engaged in expressing strong opinions, battling to be right, and there almost seems to be an industry around being offended! In this episode, we discuss what it means to operate in the opposite spirit.  It’s something Jesus did so we should too. 

It seems like everyone is offended these days, whether it be our opinion on politics, the church, race, vaccines, sports, and yes, even masks. Offense usually leads to anger, and we have the bad habit of saying we are “righteously angry” to excuse bad behavior. What do the Scriptures have to say about being offended? And is it possible to choose to NOT be offended?

At Lionshare, we often reference the practice of “beginning with the end in mind.” So, in the first week of January, let’s do that.  Let’s begin the year with the end in mind, not necessarily the end of 2021 but with the idea of “finishing well.” Research shows that on average, only one in three spiritual leaders from the Bible, church history, and in modern times finish well.  We certainly had some high-profile examples of that in the last year. In this episode, we revisit our discussion about engaging in practices to keep you from finishing poorly.  

In this advent season, Jesus’ name Emmanuel reminds us that God is with us.  His act of coming to Earth as a baby and putting on the constraints of being a human was an act of humility.  In this episode, we revisit our discussion on humility—how it does not rule the day in our culture.  It’s looked upon as a sign of weakness.  What are some practical steps we can take to live a humble life, and what do we often forget? 

Most of us will agree that 2020 has been hard.  There’s no guarantee that when the calendar flips to January 1, 2021 that things will magically get better.  But 2021 could be the year that you seize your great opportunity.