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Weak vs. Wise
The first part of today's reading finishes up thoughts on marriage and singleness from yesterday. If you have questions about what Paul is saying, I dealt with some of them in the comments yesterday, so check there first. I dealt with some of the issues revolving around whether or not it's good to be married. If you still have questions, ask them here.
What I want to talk about today is and issue again having to do with freedom vs. "weak" faith. We dealt with this a bit in Romans, but I think it's a complex topic. The situation was that at this time in history there would be meat that was put before idols as an offering. A person would give the meat/sacrifice to the false god to gain favor. The temples, not wanting to be wasteful and eager to make a buck, would take that mean and sell it in the marketplace. Some Christians were very stricken by this because they didn't want to inadvertently participate in the worship of a false god or be defiled by an offering to one. In essence what Paul says here is "Don't worry about eating meat sacrificed to idols. It's just meat and can't hurt you." But he also says that if you're convinced that it IS bad (those "weak" in faith) and eat it anyway, you have just done a lot of harm to yourself. Don't do things that you think are wrong or your conscience will be seared.
Here's where I think it gets more complicated for us today though: we don't really struggle with the idol-meat thing, but have a lot of tricky situations to deal with. Some people don't feel comfortable with doing certain things, but are they being "weak" or are they being "wise"? The thing with the meat is that it was just an object to be consumed and doesn't influence the mind or body in any real way. So what about these issues?
This is the challenge: think through what is an "idol-meat" issue and what is not. It's easy to just look at this list and say, "Those things are all okay. They can't hurt me and don't influence me." I would say that none of this things is inherently "wrong" in a Biblical sense. The Bible doesn't address any of those things specifically. But the question we need to ask is, "Is this wise?" I'm not giving answers here: I want you to think for yourself because I'm not always standing on your shoulder telling you what to do and what not to do. Some questions to consider in this issues:
1. Does this encourage me to think or act in ways that bring me closer to God, or farther from Him. Or is it neutral?
2. Does this bring me joy, or it an action the controls me and consumes me?
3. Is there anything in Scripture that forbids this?
There are a lot more questions that could and should be asked, but I just want to give you a starting point. Think through some of the items on the list. Think of other things in your life and assess - does this bring me closer to God or not? My goal here above all is not even for you to agree with my answers to some of these issues, but to THINK. Assess your life and your actions and think about what you do and how it affects you. Wisdom is defined Biblically as "skill in living". Let's start seeking wisdom and assessing our lives. Maybe you'll find that there aren't a lot of issues you need to deal with, but let's all start living "examined" lives. I think Paul is encouraging us to do so: don't just eat or not eat. Understand why you do it and what it does to you. Good luck!
Hit me up with questions or comments below.
Weak vs. Wise
The first part of today's reading finishes up thoughts on marriage and singleness from yesterday. If you have questions about what Paul is saying, I dealt with some of them in the comments yesterday, so check there first. I dealt with some of the issues revolving around whether or not it's good to be married. If you still have questions, ask them here.
What I want to talk about today is and issue again having to do with freedom vs. "weak" faith. We dealt with this a bit in Romans, but I think it's a complex topic. The situation was that at this time in history there would be meat that was put before idols as an offering. A person would give the meat/sacrifice to the false god to gain favor. The temples, not wanting to be wasteful and eager to make a buck, would take that mean and sell it in the marketplace. Some Christians were very stricken by this because they didn't want to inadvertently participate in the worship of a false god or be defiled by an offering to one. In essence what Paul says here is "Don't worry about eating meat sacrificed to idols. It's just meat and can't hurt you." But he also says that if you're convinced that it IS bad (those "weak" in faith) and eat it anyway, you have just done a lot of harm to yourself. Don't do things that you think are wrong or your conscience will be seared.
Here's where I think it gets more complicated for us today though: we don't really struggle with the idol-meat thing, but have a lot of tricky situations to deal with. Some people don't feel comfortable with doing certain things, but are they being "weak" or are they being "wise"? The thing with the meat is that it was just an object to be consumed and doesn't influence the mind or body in any real way. So what about these issues?
- Drinking alcohol
- Watching R-rated movies or listening to music with bad lyrics
- Honoring your ancestors
- Reading Harry Potter
- Gambling
- Smoking
- Working on Sunday
- Playing violent video games
This is the challenge: think through what is an "idol-meat" issue and what is not. It's easy to just look at this list and say, "Those things are all okay. They can't hurt me and don't influence me." I would say that none of this things is inherently "wrong" in a Biblical sense. The Bible doesn't address any of those things specifically. But the question we need to ask is, "Is this wise?" I'm not giving answers here: I want you to think for yourself because I'm not always standing on your shoulder telling you what to do and what not to do. Some questions to consider in this issues:
1. Does this encourage me to think or act in ways that bring me closer to God, or farther from Him. Or is it neutral?
2. Does this bring me joy, or it an action the controls me and consumes me?
3. Is there anything in Scripture that forbids this?
There are a lot more questions that could and should be asked, but I just want to give you a starting point. Think through some of the items on the list. Think of other things in your life and assess - does this bring me closer to God or not? My goal here above all is not even for you to agree with my answers to some of these issues, but to THINK. Assess your life and your actions and think about what you do and how it affects you. Wisdom is defined Biblically as "skill in living". Let's start seeking wisdom and assessing our lives. Maybe you'll find that there aren't a lot of issues you need to deal with, but let's all start living "examined" lives. I think Paul is encouraging us to do so: don't just eat or not eat. Understand why you do it and what it does to you. Good luck!
Hit me up with questions or comments below.
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