Living For Others

DEVOTION

1 CORINTHIANS

LIVING FOR OTHERS

1 Cor 10:23-24

23 "Everything is permissible"-but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible"-but not everything is constructive. 24 Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.

NIV

Here is the simply principle that we are in fact not our own, but that we belong to others. We are part of the body of Christ and as such we are in a sense responsible for the rest of the body. Each member serves for the purpose of the other, as we learn in other scripture. So even though we may feel that we have the freedom in Christ to do a certain thing that, in fact, it is permissible to do as a believer, it may not be beneficial to the Kingdom of God at large, or the rest of the body of Christ. It would appear we just cannot go around living our life as we please totally unaware of the effects our life will have on others. Sure we know that when it comes to our personal family, those who live in the same household, but what about those who live in the same body of Christ? Are we aware of how we influence how they think by our actions? Are we aware of them at all? Do we care what they think? Do we condemn them for being judgmental of us? Maybe we have the freedom to eat that food which was sacrificed to idols, but should we flaunt it in their face? Is it possible to eat it in the privacy of our own homes, but not in the restaurants? Would that be beneficial, would that be constructive? But we are not just talking about food here, are we? It is our whole life, which is pictured here for us to examine. What we do and say in the solitude of our own life, should be the same as what we do in the company of others. Yet there is some sense in this freedom that should be able to be expressed as long as we are not harming the faith of others. Could we say, “What they do not know wouldn’t kill them”? Is that living a double life, a double standard? Is that hypocrisy? Now on the other hand, should we be so shackled by all their man-made rules and regulations which are not based solely on the Word of God? Should we make an effort to encourage them to see the truth, to see the freedom in Christ? If there are weak in their faith, is it not our responsibility to help them grow? Can we just stand by and let them continue to live burdened down with their own set of rules past down to them by the ancients? Although tradition has many good features, it can also be a harmful, even dangerous, and a deterrent to spiritual growth. So if we are to live not seeking our own good, but the good of others, we should fine that balance between living free without harming others, and living to help those others to grow in their faith, their freedom in Christ. Thus we should be living for others.