The Body of Christ

I received an email this week that caused me to ponder about growth of the body of Christ (church).  The sender said, "Thin skinned Christians hinder growth of the body of Christ."  That caused me to spend some time wondering how many times I had been ultra-sensitive or gotten my feelings hurt over something that the other person meant nothing by.

I recently wrote part of a curriculum to go with a book written by a dear friend.  When I sent him the curriculum, I said "Let me know if there is anything wrong because I wrote it when I had a migraine and it was very hard to think."  When I didn't hear back from him, I wrote and asked if he had received it and did we need to talk about anything.  He wrote back that he hadn't emailed me about the curriculum because he "was holding off because since you wrote it when you had a migraine."  Immediately, my mind translated that into "Your work was inferior because of the migraine."  My blood pressure rose about 20 points.  I wrote and asked him what was wrong with my work.  Being the patient Christian that he is, his return email said, "Hold the press.  Who said your work was inferior?  I was waiting for you to feel better."  Can you say "red face"?  I was extremely embarrassed that I had jumped to a conclusion that he did not mean.

Had he not been such a mature Christian, I could have lost a very good friend because of my thin skin.  Thankfully, he forgave me and we have enjoyed a blossoming relationship since then.  I could give you countless other examples, but I won't.

And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me. Matthew 11:6.

Do you sometimes have thin skin?  Are you easily offended?  Do you blow things out of proportion?
Have you lost friends because of hurt feelings over trivial matters?  Isn't the cause of Christ more important than your feelings?  Isn't a Christian more valuable than an apology?