Day 74: Judges 13, 14 and 15

This time I have a right to get even with the Philistines. (Judges 15:3)

Here we have a case study in being offended. Samson had an engagement party in which he told a riddle his friends couldn't figure out. This made them look bad, so they became offended. They threatened his fiancee into getting the secret out of Samson, which she did. She told them what they wanted to know, and they taunted Samson that they'd discovered the answer. This made Samson look bad, and he became offended.

Samson deserted his fiancée, whose father then gave her to be married to another. Samson changed his mind, but was told she'd married one of his friends. He was offended, to say the least. In response, he set fire to the grain, vineyards, and olive groves of the Philistines. Guess what – they were offended. Since Israel was subject to the Philistines, the men of Judah handed over Samson to protect themselves. Samson was understandably offended, so he killed a thousand enemies with the jawbone of a donkey.

Then Samson got thirsty, and he became offended with God.

One problem with being offended is that it keeps us from seeing ourselves objectively. As long as we're offended with someone else, we never have to ask if we might share any culpability for the troubles at hand. When we're offended with someone else, we never realize that maybe we need to ask forgiveness.

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Is there anyone you need to get even with?