Between Me and God

DEVOTION
ROMANS
BETWEEN ME AND GOD
Rom 14:19-23

19 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. 20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. 21 It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall.

22 So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves. 23 But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.
NIV
So the last verses laid it out in general, and now I have to deal within on a more specific issue but I must deal with it between me and Him. In a certain sense this is no nobody’s business if I eat something or drink something which they believe is a sin. Now the idea here, I think is pretty simple. If I am out having dinner with a fellow believer who thinks drinking wine or any other adult beverage is a sin, and I order wine, I am certainly out of line, and out of the will of God. I would be causing my brother to stumble, to think badly of me, to have thoughts about my relationship with God, or whatever. I would never do such a thing, of that I am sure. I respect those beliefs in others and would never eat or drink anything which would cause them to stumble. And I must say I would not even tell them of the liberty in Christ which I enjoy. In the society I live in I cannot think of anything I should not eat, but certainly know many of my fellow believers would have a problem if I were to drink wine. Some would not, but some would. Again those who restrict themselves to those rules of no drinking, no dancing, no smoking, no movies, no whatever, I believe would have trouble with how long or short the “no” list should be, consider such a list does not exist in the scriptures. I do believe it is not about the list but about a relationship with our Lord. Whatever I believe about drinking wine, in this case, is completely between me and God. I simple keep my relationship with God on a personal one on one condition. I know what God has told me, I have no doubts in my heart at all. I can only hope and pray I will never do anything which would cause my fellow believers to struggle with their faith, with their relationship with God.