“That make a man an offender for a word, and lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate, and turn aside the just for a thing of nought.” (Isaiah 29:21)
Are you prickly? To be prickly means to be easily irritated and ready to take offense. We are prickly to the degree we get agitated when others don’t do what we deem to be “right.”
Prickliness is usually a matter of aesthetics. We speak of someone’s actions as not giving a “good look.” Aesthetics can simply be a matter of personal taste. The way “I” think people should act. The way “I” think people should be.
The key is this: How much do we make of things? How easily offended are we? How quickly will we make a man “an offender for a word?” Are we longsuffering, or are we short-suffering? Does our patience run out before God’s patience does? Are we making more of something than He is?
God has higher and better standards than we do, but He is not prickly. If He was, He probably wouldn’t be able to stand any of us.