The Spirit of Offense falls under the Jealousy strongman, but it brings with it the Spirits of Pride, Accusation, Strife and Bitterness. People with this spirit are easily offended and are compulsive complainers. The root to this spirit is insecurity; there is need for validation and respect from others to feel good about themselves. It doesn’t take much to trigger this spirit. It could be someone disagreeing with them, an innocent statement made that is taken negatively or their need to believe that they are a victim (others taking advantage of or using them). Their spiritual growth is hindered because their focus is not on self-reflection but on what others are doing or not doing.

People with the Spirit of Offense;

  1. Complain so often that it becomes toxic.
    We all need to vent sometimes, maybe about our family or ours jobs. It is good to let it out. But people with this spirit vent most of the time with it taking up most of their day. They also focus on what they believe others need to do instead of looking at themselves.
  2. Negativity is always prevalent in all circumstances of their lives.
    Insecurity causes them to be negative most of the time, always expecting the worst. They are wrapped up in what they perceive as negatives aspects and even view positive circumstances as negative.
  3. Concentrates on what is lacking.
    They cannot enjoy or appreciate what they have because their focus is on what they think is missing or the belief that they should have what others have. A sense of entitlement is common.
  4. They assume and presume rather than seek facts
    Common every day words are misconstrued, and obvious intentions expressed by others are ignored and replaced with something negative. Their first and foremost goal is to eliminate the pain they feel when they are feeling offended. As a result, they become accusatory and often believe that lashing out is the quickest most effective way to ease the pain.
  5. They are trapped in anger and conflict
    The battle is within and it causes strife in the family, work place and in ministry. They cut others down to make themselves feel better and talk bad about others behind their backs fairly often.
  6. 6. They are narcissistic and always the victim.
    They can do no wrong and blame their problems on everyone else. When trying to explain the facts, they will ignore you; there is no reasoning with them because they are always right. Pride, Unforgiveness and intolerance sets in.
  7. They are very sensitive
    Because they are offended by some of the smallest things, people feel like they must be careful about what they say or do, so offense will not show its ugly head.

It is very difficult to have a healthy relationship with someone that is offended all the time. Speaking to someone with this problem will probably exasperate the problem. Offense is difficult to identify within because pride will keep them from excepting there is a problem. We need to speak the truth to them in love while listening and helping them identify facts vs assumptions. Help them to understand that a Spirit of Offense has but one purpose; it is to destroy relationships. If they refuse to listen, pray for them and give them time to heal.