Friday, June 18, 2010

The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

DEVOTION
ROMANS
THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY
Rom 14:13-18
13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way. 14 As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. 15 If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died. 16 Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18 because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.
NIV
There is just way too much in this verse to deal with it all, but at the same time, how do I separate it into bits and pieces as it is one complete idea. Yet I see so much hidden within each individual statement, what shall I do? Let me consider first the idea of passing judgment on another. Now, I have the freedom in Christ to not be concerned about what I eat or drink. I have gotten that point, but I do think I am a bit judgmental of those who are restricted by their rules and regulations from eating and drinking what I have the freedom to do. The question has been posed about hiding my freedom, that is not admitting to those who are restricted from such items or keeping what I eat and drink from them out of a sense of what I am doing is wrong. I have to admit I may have had those thoughts, but surely in light of this verse, I should not allow myself to be a stumbling block to them. This is not done by abstaining, but by not allowing them to be able to know so as to cause them to be judgmental toward me. Simply put, if I consider it to be good, then I such not allow them to speak evil of it. How do I do this? I do this by either not consuming it, or not consuming it in their presence. I do not consider it to be unclean and therefore to me it is not, and does not interfere with my relationship with my lord, but for them it does. Yet all this is simply put, not the issue of the kingdom of God, still I cannot help but to feel I or them seem to be on different sides, and how does that work. Am I to restrict myself for them or should they allow me to have the freedom in Christ I do? Who causes who to stumble? We both need to simply allow the others path to be their path because the kingdom is about righteousness, peace and joy in the spirit. So what’s good, what’s bad and what’s ugly?

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