I was chatting with a friend, listening as she shared an uncomfortable experience from work. I was surprised at how the supervisor in charge had handled the situation—mishandled it badly. My friend told me how she responded, how she received the instructions she was given and followed through on them (even though it was extra work for her), how the situation was finally resolved.
“But weren’t you mad?” I asked incredulously. “Did you have to count to ten or something?” My friend laughed softly and said, “No, not really.” I was amazed at how not bent-out-of-shape she was over the incident.
She said, “I choose not to be offended.”
–What?
Proverbs 19:11 puts it this way, “Sensible people control their temper; they earn respect by overlooking wrongs.” (NLT)
Overlooking wrongs. Passing up the opportunity to be offended. It’s not that you don’t see them. It’s like you’re walking down the buffet line and you see your options…and you just keep walking.
You choose NOT to put that on your plate.
You don’t accept the invitation to the argument.
You hit “unsubscribe” to negative, angry feelings.
I learned something important from my friend. Choosing not to be offended is a SUPER-POWER!
Use your power for good.