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"Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, that I might not cause my brother to stumble" (1 Corinthians 8:13).
Is there ever an occasion when something is "right" and "wrong" at the same time, beloved? Our senses would tell us "No, that's impossible!" Yet in his letter to the church in Corinth, the apostle Paul made it clear that such is often the case. It seems that in the church today, we love things to be "black" (that's wrong) and "white" (that's right). Nor would I argue for a moment against the fact that God's Word is very clear on the issues of sin and righteousness.
But Paul's point was that sometimes, in the exercise of our "righteousness" as Christians, we can actually be wrong even when technically we may be right. A case in point for him involved the Corinthian believers' concern for those among them who were purchasing meat in the marketplace that had come from the temples of idols where it had been offered in sacrifice. How easy it was for them to affirm the truth that "there is no such thing as an idol in the world" (v.4) and to go on partaking of that perfectly good meat with a clear conscience.
Yet the apostle introduced to them a different perspective, and one that we need so very much to heed ourselves today. That perspective was: "What effect is this exercise of my personal liberty as a Christian having upon other believers?" Hm! Apparently no one had asked themselves that question before! Paul went on to explain that in their midst there lived fellow believers who had just come out of idolatry and to whose consciences such an action as eating that meat was offensive and wrong. What about them? Should the stronger believers with the knowledge that "food is food" and that the idols really didn't exist forge ahead anyway and ignore their brothers' wounded consciences?
Paul made it clear that each of them was, in a sense, the "keeper" of his brother's conscience, in particular the weaker brothers in the faith. As the apostle made clear to them about this matter:
"But take care lest this liberty of yours somehow become a stumbling block to the weak" (v.9).
So "right" can be "wrong" whenever it causes a fellow Christian to stumble in his or her faith! I think that what this same apostle wrote to the saints in Philippi will stand us in good stead, beloved, as we consider our responsibility toward fellow believers:
"Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each one of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others" (Philippians 2:3-4).
What kind of example are we setting before other Christians, beloved? Do we tend to rush headlong through life, taking our liberties as Christians as we encounter them with no thought whatsoever for what effect we may be having on those weaker in faith? Has "right" become "wrong" for us because we have not considered others to be more important than ourselves?
Let me encourage you to listen carefully to the very wise counsel of the apostle Paul and begin to view every action you are about to take in light of its potential impact on the lives of those around you. We all love "meat," but if it somehow causes another to stumble in faith, what good is that? Let's truly be the "keeper" of our brothers' consciences in the sense that we care more about their growth in grace than we do about the pursuit of our own personal liberties.
May God grant you wisdom as you truly put one another first!
Ron
