But food does not commend us to God; for neither if we eat are we the better, nor if we do not eat are we the worse.
--1 Corinthians 8:8 (NKJV)
From the daily Bible reading on May 27, 2013 of Psalm 102:1-12; 1 Corinthians 8; 2 Samuel 9-11.
In the eighth chapter of his first letter to the church in Corinth, Paul addresses their concerns about food, specifically whether they should obey the law as handed down by Moses that forbids the eating of anything previously given as an offering to a false god, any food placed before an idol to appease it. Paul assures them that even if there are other gods, there is only one true God and only one Jesus Christ. Any other god or idol is empty, nothing, and anything offered up to it is merely wasted food otherwise, so eating it is no sin. Paul notes that simply eating food, no matter the source, does not make us better or worse in the eyes of God.
In this context, Paul echos the words Jesus used when addressing the accusatory questions leveled by the scribes and Pharisees who asked why He allowed His disciples to break from tradition by not ritually washing their hands before eating. His disciples, as usual, did not fully understand His reply so He explained that it is not what enters a person by their mouth that defiles them, but what comes out of their mouth. Jesus further clarified that what goes into the mouth enters the stomach and is eventually eliminated. But whatever comes out of the mouth, specifically our words, originate from the heart, and it is from the heart that evil thoughts proceed, such as of murder, theft, adulteries, lies, blasphemies. These are the things that defile a person, that displease God, not the things we might eat. (Please reference Matthew 15:1-20.)
But Paul asks us to consider what we eat not so much for ourselves, we who believe in Christ Jesus and have the benefit of knowing His teachings such as in the preceding paragraph. Paul's concern is for those who may be weaker in their faith, or even non-believers entirely, that might see us eating and take note of what we consume. They might not understand that food and drink are only fuels for the body and may still think certain things to be forbidden. Seeing us consume these supposedly taboo things could encourage them to do likewise, but because they don't have the knowledge and understanding that we possess, they could think they're getting away with sinning, which would displease God. In other words, we, strong in our faith, could cause someone weaker in their faith to stumble in their walk with God. The Lord would not be pleased with us if we did that, so we should be careful lest our actions, while innocent in and of themselves, make someone else trip up and fall. Amen.
Lord God, please forgive us when something we do, even though innocent in our knowledge and in Your eyes, causes someone else to trip up and stumble. Please help us to always realize that others watch us, some to see if we fail but others who want to be like us and have what we have, our deep faith in You. Please help us always to be good role models in everything we say and the example we set with how we live our life. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
In this context, Paul echos the words Jesus used when addressing the accusatory questions leveled by the scribes and Pharisees who asked why He allowed His disciples to break from tradition by not ritually washing their hands before eating. His disciples, as usual, did not fully understand His reply so He explained that it is not what enters a person by their mouth that defiles them, but what comes out of their mouth. Jesus further clarified that what goes into the mouth enters the stomach and is eventually eliminated. But whatever comes out of the mouth, specifically our words, originate from the heart, and it is from the heart that evil thoughts proceed, such as of murder, theft, adulteries, lies, blasphemies. These are the things that defile a person, that displease God, not the things we might eat. (Please reference Matthew 15:1-20.)
But Paul asks us to consider what we eat not so much for ourselves, we who believe in Christ Jesus and have the benefit of knowing His teachings such as in the preceding paragraph. Paul's concern is for those who may be weaker in their faith, or even non-believers entirely, that might see us eating and take note of what we consume. They might not understand that food and drink are only fuels for the body and may still think certain things to be forbidden. Seeing us consume these supposedly taboo things could encourage them to do likewise, but because they don't have the knowledge and understanding that we possess, they could think they're getting away with sinning, which would displease God. In other words, we, strong in our faith, could cause someone weaker in their faith to stumble in their walk with God. The Lord would not be pleased with us if we did that, so we should be careful lest our actions, while innocent in and of themselves, make someone else trip up and fall. Amen.
Lord God, please forgive us when something we do, even though innocent in our knowledge and in Your eyes, causes someone else to trip up and stumble. Please help us to always realize that others watch us, some to see if we fail but others who want to be like us and have what we have, our deep faith in You. Please help us always to be good role models in everything we say and the example we set with how we live our life. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
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