All sin is selfish. Exalting self over God is the origin of all sin. The original sin was Satan exalting himself above God - he's taught mankind to do the same. All sin is the result of placing our will before God's. This practice of putting self first in our hearts is what promotes offenses. We get offended when we think of ourselves too much. Jesus taught "Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink or yet for your body, what ye shall put on". If I must sleep on a mat on a dirty floor in India with no AC, so what? If I complain, if even just in my heart - I'm thinking of myself too much, exalting myself above due measure.
If someone mistreats me in anyway, whether by insulting me or speaking lies about me or worse - ignoring me, if I'm offended I haven't crucified self - I'm still listening to the whisper of Satan telling my heart to take offense at even slight provocations. If we are to be witnesses of Christ, of His abundant life, we must first be witnesses of His death - working in us, crucifying selfishness - and when self is dethroned in our hearts, sin will no longer abide in our own "Holy of Holies" and Christ will take His proper place in our inner sanctum.
The truth of it is - in this world, we are the least, the unloved, the unwanted, poor in worldly standards of wealth but in the next world we're God's royalty, ruling and reigning with Him forever....but in this life we are as Israel was - "Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter" (Psalm 44:22). Paul quotes this very scripture in Romans 8:36, but oh how Jesus rejoices over the soul that dies for Him - the soul that will endure tribulation, or distress, or persecutions, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword - the soul that is "killed all the day long" by the hate they spew, by the words they speak or by the casting out of their friendship, is the soul that will never be separated from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Yes, they may use the sword of their spirits - their tongues, to slaughter us, to slander and curse us but we will respond as the psalmist - "For I have heard the slander of many: fear was on every side, while they took counsel together against me, they devised to take away my life, but I trusted in Thee, O Lord; I said You are my God, my times are in Your hand, deliver me from the hand of my enemies and from them that persecute me".....but if it be Thy will O Lord that I am chosen to suffer for Your great names sake, then I will respond "Father forgive them". I do not say "I" forgive them for "I" am now buried with Christ - if "I" must forgive them from a place of being offended by them then "I", "self", hasn't died yet. When we commend our souls, our bodies and one day our spirits into His hands, we relinquish the right to be offended, we trust Him to take up our cause and by faith we believe that all things work together for our good. "Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath (leave room for the wrath of God, not your own) for it is written: Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, saith The Lord". He is our defense, our shield, a strong high tower we may flee into. He is our shelter from the storm of wrath of the wicked as they choose to go to Hell rather than accept Him - and all who are of Him. He cannot judge them if we do so ourselves. If we reprimand someone for their sin - it is not now because they've sinned against us - for we are now seated in Christ at the right hand of the Father - we are His now, so when we forgive them it is so that the Father will forgive them - so when we who are dead in Christ rebuke someone for their sin, it is never to be done from a place of hurt or anger but from a deep love for the welfare of their soul. We want them reunited with their Father, as we have been. Know you not that when you are hurt - in any way, especially wounds of the heart, He feels it too? He sees it, He knows it even before it happens? He will avenge us but it is not our desire for Him to do so. As Jesus did - we intercede  on behalf of the ones wounding us and by doing so we rise above our wounds, we transcend them.
Our scars no longer define who we are but rather his scars do. Our scars define who we belong to, who we follow. We do not just cry out for and receive His mercy for our own souls, we do so for others and we freely give His mercy to others that it may triumph over judgment (we choose to give mercy rather than judge them). We gladly bear the wounds of the fallen ones, that by our witness they may rise with us - even as Stephen graciously bore the sins of those stoning him to death, with his last breath crying out "Lord, lay not this sin to their charge". Paul looked at this witness of the glorious grace and love of Jesus Christ pouring out of the heart of Stephen and Paul's own heart was pricked and a seed was planted. He went from Saul (literally means "a ditch, death" to Paul (literally means "humble"). He went from arrogance, which leads to death, to humility, which leads to life. Humility is the journey every believers heart must embark on, and finish. How we respond to offenses is the clearest witness of the Gospel we will ever preach. If we correct someone, we do it as a good parent would - out of love for them. We are about our Father's business, which is making crooked paths straight. We want all to experience the Father's forgiveness as we have.
Please allow me to end this sermon by stating quite clearly - wisdom will not allow us to continue to be abused, used, taken advantage of again and again - though we respond to abuse with loving forgiveness, we still cry out to the Father to rescue us, and trust Him to do so. We follow Him when He leads us to a place of peace and safety. Though some are called to become martyr's for Him, others are called to endure unkind words, or tribulations both physical and mental, but in it all - we follow Him, never leaving or forsaking Him. We give him thanks IN all things, not FOR all things, knowing any suffering we may endure in this life is for a light moment, a twinkling of an eye, and suddenly, we are in His arms forever. Selah.

So stay or go, as he desires. There are times when Paul was beaten, even stoned, and times when he escaped in a basket over a wall. He decides it all. Amen.