Be Careful

 

DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

BE CAREFUL

1 Cor 8:9-13

9 Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol's temple, won't he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols? 11 So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. 12 When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.

NIV

Now we have arrived at what we had eluded to before about this idea of eating food sacrificed to idols and in doing so causing harm to the weaker brother in Christ. At least that was the situation in Corinth. We do not have any temples to idols nor any food that is sacrificed to them, so we need to modernize this truth for our time and culture. The only perceived taboo in the Christian community today is drinking adult beverages. In some communities of faith, not too long ago, dancing, smoking, going to movie theaters, roller rinks, bowling alleys, and at one time boys and girls going swimming together were all taboos. Many of these things have gone by the wayside, except the drinking of adult beverages. We still hold to the idea that this activity results in being a drunk, and is frowned upon by those who think that being a teetotaler is being righteous. Again, we have to go to the teaching of Jesus about what goes into the stomach does not go into the heart. However, if by the freedom we have in Christ to have a glass of whatever, causes someone who believes it is not right to do so, to indulge themselves in a glass of whatever because we do, and they feel guilty in doing so, then we should not do it either. But this truth applies to so much more then eating food sacrificed to idols or drinking a glass of whatever. The point is that any behavior or attitude that is expressed outwardly that would cause a brother in Christ to think that behavior or attitude is acceptable and therefore engage themselves in the same manner as us, but feels somehow they are doing wrong, and feel guilty, then we should refrain from such behavior or expressing our attitude. When we see a brother or sister that is freely doing something without any guilt or remorse, then we either think it might be alright or that we have ill feelings about them, seeing their attitude as being so wrong, if we are one of the weaker believers. Still, it seems all this applies to our public life, and not what we do in the solitude of our own homes, at least in the having a glass of whatever is concerned. Of course, attitudes and behaviors that are really against the Lord, we all should refrain from. The point is still the same in the sense that we should be aware of our brothers and sisters in all that we do so as not to be a stumbling block to those of them whose faith is weak. This is not in the sense of because they think it is wrong, but in the sense that they would be emboldened to do the same as us. So we need to be careful.