Spirit of Offense: Knowing the Signs (Lacking Loyalty and Childlike Behavior)

December 30, 2022

Spirit of Offense: Knowing the Signs (Lacking Loyalty and Childlike Behavior)

The spirit of offense doesn’t influence your life immediately. In order for this spirit to take root and become a stronghold in your life, there has to be seeds already planted by the enemy allowing legal right for it to do so. Some of the most common characteristics that are open doors for this spirit to come in and invade your space are: bitterness, animosity, resentment, spite, anger, etc.

The Word of God goes into deeper detail in Galatians 5:19-21 when the Apostle Paul states, “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

The key takeaway from these verses of Scripture is that the Lord is making it clear that people that practice these behaviors will not inherit the kingdom of God. The devil knows Scripture better than a lot of Christians do and he is well informed on this stipulation that God gives His children.

So what he does is try to create a stumbling block by getting you to develop animosity, bitterness, etc. in your heart. When these adverse emotions linger long enough it can lead to the spirit of offense. He will use a family member, co-worker, close friends, spouse, and even your children to create disorder in your life in the hopes that you fall for his schemes.

That is why it is so imperative to get into God’s Word and stay in His Word so that you develop a clear understanding of His spiritual laws and principles. If you are luke warm and don’t pray, don’t fast, don’t spend intimate time with the Lord, the devil will take advantage of your lack of spiritual understanding.

One of the main ways that you can defeat the tactics of the enemy is by remaining proactive and vigilant, 1 Peter 5:8. You have to be fully aware of his devices, 2 Corinthians 2:11. The Lord’s Word tells us in Hosea 4:6, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…” We are responsible for making sure that we study to show ourselves approved, 2 Timothy 2:15.

The devil uses the spirit of offense over and over again to destroy people’s lives. Luckily, there are signs that you can look for to help you determine whether or not you are affected by this demonic entity. I am going to go into detail on two of them: lacking loyalty and having childlike behavior. Once you know the signs, you can do what it takes to prevent the enemy from establishing strongholds in your life that can be hard to break.

Lacking Loyalty

One clue that can indicate that you are hindered by the spirit of offense is if you find it difficult to remain loyal. The emotions that this demonic influence tends to create are revenge and spite so the moment that you can retaliate, you will! You could have a best friend for twenty years and he or she might do something or say something to offend you and that friendship is thrown out the window.

You will find that the little things that people do will get you so agitated that you will feel like you have to get even in some way. Your lying tongue will make others feel like your relationship with them is genuine but the moment that something is done that you don’t agree with; you make sure to let them know how angry you are about it.

You will even go so far as to become friends with a person’s enemies just so that you can get the level of revenge that you’re looking for. Be very cautious if that is your way of thinking because the Bible is unequivocally clear on this matter. Romans 12:19 states, “Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.” He does not want us to take matters into our own hands.

You have to be extremely careful if you feel like you are harboring any of these negative feelings because a root of bitterness can easily lead to more powerful strongholds. Your rock of offense will turn into a boulder that nobody will be able to move including you! As the body of Christ we have to understand how the enemy uses these adverse emotions to entangle us.

You never want to allow any unresolved offense to linger even for a day. A powerful verse of Scripture is Ephesians 4:26 the Apostle Paul writes, “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath.” Then he goes on to describe why this is so important, “nor give place to the devil,” Ephesians 4:27.

The reason why the Lord is so adamant about letting anger remain built up in you is because it will give place for the enemy to invade your space. He will take full advantage of every single opportunity that you give him to come in and create chaos. The first thing that you want to do is analyze your spiritual growth as a Christian. Do you allow every offensive event that takes place to completely ruin your entire attitude?

As believers in the kingdom of God it is our responsibility to represent God’s love and the fruit of the Spirit of God, Galatians 5:22-23. A way that we can do that is by examining our own hearts consistently asking the help of the Holy Spirit to reveal any harmful emotions that need to be removed. He is your Helper and the One that will bring all things to your remembrance when you need Him to, John 14:26.

The good thing is that the power of God has the ability to break even the most powerful strongholds. The enemy will make you think that it is impossible for you to change and that you are “just that way” but that is a lie from the pit of hell. Jesus Christ died on the cross at Calvary so that we would have the power and authority in His Name to triumph over any scheme that the devil devises.

I know for me when I first became saved I struggled with holding onto grudges. I mean I could be upset for weeks at a time without even thinking twice about it. It wasn’t until the Holy Spirit began to deal with me about my own personal strongholds that had I allowed them to linger on, they could have led to much stronger ones. Now I know how destructive these negative emotions can be and how easily they can destroy my life and it is just not worth it.

The only way that you can begin to take the first step in shifting your mindset is by coming to the realization that you need to change. Pride is one of the primary factors that will get in the way of permanent transformation. The Lord hates egotism because of how catastrophic it is to your walk with Him and it is an open doorway to the enemy. He is just waiting for those opportunities that he can come in and kill, steal, and destroy your life, John 10:10.

Some Scriptures that you can meditate on regarding loyalty are:

Proverbs 18:24 “A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”
John 15:12-13 “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”
Job 42:10 “And the Lord restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.”
Proverbs 27:9 “Ointment and perfume delight the heart, And the sweetness of a man’s friend gives delight by hearty counsel.”
1 Thessalonians 5:11 “Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.”

Also, don’t forget to check out my other articles pertaining to this very topic: Spirit of Offense: Knowing the Signs (Taking Everything Personal and Unable to Take Criticism), Spirit of Offense: Knowing the Signs (Pettiness and A Negative Mindset), and Spirit of Offense: Knowing the Signs (Impossible to Satisfy and Filled with Spite)

Childlike Behavior

Displaying childlike behavior when it comes to moments that you are offended can mean that you are dealing with the spirit of offense. If you make it your business to throw a temper tantrum every time someone does something or says something that rubs you the wrong way, there could be some demonic influence at play.

It is not normal for you to revert back to a child when things are not going your way or you are upset. As a child of God there has to be some level of spiritual maturity and if there isn’t, it could mean that you need to spend more time with the Lord and in His Word. It will take you renewing your mind, Romans 12:2.

Most people will give others the benefit of the doubt and will have the ability to see the positive things in life instead of remaining focused on the negative. You have to be willing to see the plank in your own eye or in other words take accountability for your own actions. If you find it difficult to apologize when you know that you are wrong, that is a problem.

Having a clear conscience will allow you to say you’re sorry without having to think twice about it. If you are being influenced by the enemy, he is going to make it problematic for you to see things from another person’s perspective. When you let adverse emotions like bitterness, anger, pettiness, and resentment have a place in your heart, you are giving the devil the legal right to come in and intensify those feelings.

That is why you begin to resort to acting like a three year old when you are well over the age of maturity. The enemy will begin to plant thoughts in your mind that will make you justify your actions. You won’t see anything wrong with them but everyone around you definitely will. Displaying childlike behavior will affect every aspect of your life: your home, your work place, and every single relationship that you have.

It is difficult to compromise and reason with someone that acts like a toddler, it just becomes stressful. A person that is developing the spirit of offense will take a long time to get over being offended. The bottom line is that offended people will make it their mission to offend others by all means necessary. A lot of it is because the demonic impact in their lives will block their ability to have compassion for others.

Have you ever tried to reason with someone that is hindered by the spirit of offense? I mean you have to be extremely careful about what you say, how you act, whether or not they are going to get upset about this or that; it is exhausting! There is nothing cute about a full on grown adult throwing a fit about something that should be approached in a mature way.

I have seen first-hand how crazy a person with childlike behavior can get when things don’t go the direction that they want them to. It actually catches you off guard because you can’t believe what you are seeing. If you are showing any of these characteristics, you have to be willing to take a step back and analyze your actions.

You can best believe it will have everything to do with the enemy having control in one if not multiple areas of your life. You will know it is a stronghold because deep down inside you don’t want to be this way but you feel an overpowering urge to do it anyway. That is a clear sign that you need to nip it in the bud before it becomes worse.

God’s grace and His amazing love for us gives us ways that we can demolish this demonic influence wreaking havoc in our lives. The number one way that you can begin to permanently change your behavior is by immersing yourself in the Word of God. It is powerful and is like a double-edged sword, Hebrews 4:12. The thing is you have to be willing to put in the work that it is going to take if you want to see significant results.

Some Scriptures that you can meditate on that will help you overcome childlike behavior are:

1 Corinthians 14:20 “Brethren, do not be children in understanding; however, in malice be babes, but in understanding be mature.”
Ephesians 4:13 “Till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”
1 Peter 2:1-2 “Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby.”
1 Corinthians 13:11 “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”
Colossians 4:12 “Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.”

Conclusion

One of the devices that the enemy loves to use on Christians over and over again is the spirit of offense. There are so many negative emotions that can lead to this powerful stronghold. The best way for you to avoid these adverse feelings taking over you is if you are aware of the signs beforehand.

Two of the main ones are: lacking loyalty and childlike behavior. Knowing these behaviors and avoiding them at all cost is key. One of the things that the devil does is blind us from being able to see our own destructive behaviors. That way, his demons can find ways to gain legal access into our lives and completely destroy it.

It is extremely vital that we as believers get into the Word of God and stay in the Word of God daily. It has the ability to wash and renew our entire frame of mind making it difficult for the devil and his kingdom to establish strongholds.

I am linking other blogs pertaining to this topic below:

Spirit of Offense-Knowing the Signs (Impossible to Satisfy and Filled with Spite)

Spirit of Offense: Knowing the Signs (Taking Everything Personal and Unable to Take Criticism)

Spirit of Offense: Knowing the Signs (Pettiness and A Negative Mindset)

Forgiveness: Appreciate Your Enemies!

Forgiveness: Recognize the Need to Forgive!

Forgiveness: Learning How to Handle Offense!

Spiritual Oppression-The Dangers of Open Doors to the Enemy-Part 2

Spiritual Oppression-The Dangers of Open Doors to the Enemy-Part 3

The Armor of God

The Power of Your Tongue!

The Importance of Forgiveness!