March 28 - This liberty

Contributed by David Deyhle, vice president for marketing on Wednesday March 27

Scripture

1 Corinthians 8 – Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” “Knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up. If any one imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. But if one loves God, one is known by him. Hence, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one.” For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth--as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords” – yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, through being hitherto accustomed to idols, eat food as really offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. Only take care lest this liberty of yours somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. For if any one sees you, a man of knowledge, at table in an idol’s temple, might he not be encouraged, if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? And so by your knowledge this weak man is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. Thus, sinning against your brethren and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food is a cause of my brother’s falling, I will never eat meat, lest I cause my brother to fall.

Devotion

The Corinthians were dealing with whether believers could eat meat that previously had been sacrificed to idols. Some probably looked at the meat rather scientifically, separating the practice of idolatry from the meat itself – “It’s perfectly good meat, wouldn’t want it to go to waste and besides we gave up idolatry long ago.” Were the others, who did not feel free to join the festivities, just narrow-minded, anti-intellectual or, worse yet, party-poopers?

These “party-poopers” likely were new converts to Christianity. In their spiritual infancy and new redemption from sin, the images of their previous lives of idol worship, or perhaps that of friends and family members, were too fresh, too compelling and perhaps too tempting. It reminded them of the darkness and hopelessness that they had left behind. They could not disconnect idolatrous practices from the eating of this meat.

Can we remember a meal of some strange dish that made us agonizingly sick? The last thing we can bear to consider is eating the leftovers of the same food, even months later. And perhaps in a similar way, some of the Corinthians lacked the liberty to eat idolatrous meat in good conscience.

Today, golden calf worship is rare but there are principalities and powers in our western culture not unlike the power of an idol – alcoholism and drug dependency, sexual addictions, greed or other obsessive behaviors. Many new believers must leave behind a variety of behaviors and thought patterns, but vestiges of memory, shadows of experiences that may continue to haunt them.

Some may choose to avoid certain movies, literature or Web sites that others have no problem viewing. To the viewers, those that avoid may seem narrow-minded or, worse yet, like party-poopers.

For some, our academic training or spiritual pilgrimage has led us to tolerate what offends others. That we can separate the idolatrous image from the symbolic meat we eat can be a good thing, but Paul offers a challenge for us: “Only take care lest this liberty of yours somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.” In other words, we should use discretion to exercise our liberties where we do not offend those with weaker consciences.

Lent traditionally is a time for abstaining from various practices to more fully focus on the death and resurrection of Christ. This Lenten season, consider abstaining or using discretion in the liberties you practice so as to more fully encourage those around you.

As Paul might say, knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.