Quote:
Originally Posted by *AQuietPlace*
I understand and agree.
But what about if someone from church sees you during the week with your stubble and is offended?
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I think we have bandied about this poor, abused word "offend" entirely too carelessly.
I was once wearing a simple tie pen to keep my tie from getting in the way and a pastor came up to me and said, "Brother, why don't you take that thing off, it offends me." That same man some time later ran off with a woman in the church. I hope it wasn't my tie pen that caused that.
The word translated offend is "skandalizo" and, you guessed, it, that is the word we get "scandal" from. It literally means to put a snare or stumblingblock in the way.
When it is used in the case of one who has taken offense it means that one has actually stumbled or fallen.
To put in context, if a person stumbled, or fell, because of my beard I would wonder about their foundation.
Now, if they didn't like it and if it made them angry to see me with a beard, but they didn't stumble over it, then I would have no obligation to them.