Lest We Offend

Matthew 17:25-27(NKJV)

25He said, “Yes.” And when he had come into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take customs or taxes, from their sons or from strangers?”

26Peter said to Him, “From strangers.” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free. 

27Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a £piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you.”

Interesting story.  We have a situation where it seems to me that Jesus doesn’t think He and Simon necessarily have to pay the tax but “lest we offend” suggests that they go ahead and pay it anyway.

I'd like to offer a couple of observations here.  The first of which is that this could illustrate the "pick your battles" type of thing.  Now there are some that would suggest that when you pick your battles, you are sometimes compromising your principals.  Maybe Jesus is saying here "Come on.  Not everything has to be that dramatic".  Sometimes its OK to just comply for the sake of harmony. 

 The other thing that occurred to me has to do with the season we are in.  It's Christmas time.  The time we celebrate Christ's birth.  One of the trends we have seen over the years is the removing of Christ from Christmas and the actual removing of  Christmas in the favor of Happy Holidays. 

Now I have to tell you that the trend ticks me off.  You have a noisy minority out there that like to file lawsuits and complain how they are offended by celebrating Christmas etc.  So in an effort not to offend and to avoid the confrontations and legal BS, companies start using Happy Holidays in place of Merry Christmas.  So the companies then offend the Christians and we have this back and forth of taking offense which further separates people.  It creates a cycle.

Lest we offend-that verse got me to wondering if there is a better way for our side to handle this.  I believe there is.  I'd like to offer two suggestions.

First off, when someone wishes you Happy Holidays, don't take offense.  I mean after all it's not like they just looked you in the eye and said "I wish your whole family was dead" or anything.  They conveyed good wishes to you.  Take it in the spirit it was given.  Smile and in your most sincere and gracious manner wish them a Merry Christmas.  No big deal.  No offense.  No confrontation or bad feelings. 

Secondly, if you want to influence stores, I think there is a better way than angry people calling for boycotts of stores that are using Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas.  Instead, take the opposite approach.  When you run across a store that fully embraces Christmas instead of Happy Holidays, take the time to write them a quick email and thank them for their support of Christmas.  Let them know that you appreciate their focus on Christmas and the way you show that appreciation is that you have favored their store with more of your gift giving dollars this year.

It just seems to me that we can have a much more positive impact by being nice than be offending.  Just a thought.  Merry Christmas!