Good morning to you my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
We live in a world where it seems everyone is watching everyone else all the time and many stand poised to make character judgments, sometimes inflammatory, about what they see in person or read on social media. Also, have you noticed that we live in an increasingly ‘copycat’ world with people imitating the behaviors of others and with the internet new fads can emerge quickly and go viral, even around the world, in a matter of hours.
Reflect on those two statements for just a moment and consider how they affect your behavior and mine, your attitudes and mine, and those of people all around us.
The world of the mid first century was in some ways very similar and in other ways quite different from ours. There was, of course, no global communication sending information around the world in seconds, but people then as now were watching each other carefully and mimicking behavior and attitudes. The apostle Paul, in his first letter to his Christian friends in Corinth, seems to address this head on in 1 Corinthians 8. Here’s one of Paul’s powerful statements in that chapter: “Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak.” (1 Cor. 8:9)
Then as now people did not like being restrained or restricted in their behavior or their words. In the mid first century, the ever-present Roman soldiers in every town made sure freedom of expression or behavior was carefully controlled. In our day, however, especially with ‘keyboard courage’ and the internet, few limits control speech. You hear it or read it everywhere, don’t you? And with confusion among political leadership, the demise of the nuclear family, absentee fathers, and even such movements as ‘defund the police’, and strong pushes for Socialism in many places, brash, undisciplined, disrespectful behavior, even in public, has become the social norm in far too many places. Have you seen it?
So how do we apply Paul’s caution in 2023 no matter where you live in our troubled world? It’s really fairly simple, isn’t it? It’s called self-control or self-discipline. It’s thinking before you speak and giving careful thought to all possible outcomes before you make a choice or act. But the truth is most people don’t live like that.
Do you agree that too many people live reactionary lives, spontaneously reacting to whatever stimuli they encounter, without much thought to the potential results? Paul was writing to fairly new Christians in the wild city of Corinth Greece, where many people lived not only in fear of the Roman soldiers, but in fear of a wide range of superstitions. Idol worship was everywhere and the smell of incense burning at these man-made idols could be sniffed almost everywhere in Corinth.
But when people heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as Paul proclaimed it, and they trusted in Jesus for their salvation, they experienced great deliverance and freedom from the many bondages and fears which had held them enslaved to superstitions. In their freedom, these Corinthian Christians sometimes did things without giving thought to how it might appear to people who were still in bondage.
Specifically in 1 Corinthians 8 Paul uses the matter of eating food sold in the market which had previously been offered in worship to idols.
Now that specific issue may not pertain in 2023 to your world, so let’s bring this principle into modern day. The Bible in several places cautions about the dangers of drunkenness, a problem which has enslaved people for millennia. But the Bible does NOT teach total abstinence from wine and all alcoholic beverages for followers of Jesus. So, we Christians do have liberty to have a glass of wine or other alcoholic beverage without it being considered ‘sin’ against God. However, Paul’s caution has to do with the IMPACT of a known Christian, who seeks to honor God with their life, being SEEN drinking alcohol or finding themselves under the influence of alcohol.
May I personalize this, my friends? My wife and I have chosen to apply this Biblical principle to ourselves by never drinking anything which has any alcoholic content whatsoever, including wine. Why? Because we are surrounded by people whose lives have been ruined by their own drinking problem or have lived in families of alcoholics and suffered great consequences. Therefore, we restrict our personal freedom so that we might never draw someone into a first drink which in their lack of self-control may lead them down a very dangerous path, because they saw my wife and me, who claim to be followers of Jesus, with an alcoholic drink in our hand.
Do you understand how we apply the principle Paul is teaching in 1 Corinthians 8:9 when he writes “Be careful that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak”? So how about you my friends? What are some examples of how you restrain your personal freedoms so as to not negatively influence someone else as they watch you?
Now let’s watch as Paul continues with another powerful statement which describes the potential damage of disregarding how the exercise of our personal freedoms might negatively influence others: “For if someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol’s temple (or doing anything that might lead them away from God) won’t that person be emboldened to do the same? So, this weak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. (And freedom) When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Jesus Christ. Therefore, if there is anything I do which causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never do that thing again, so that I will not be the cause of their fall.” (1 Cor. 8:10-13) That’s quite clear isn’t it my friends?
Now, for those of us who are parents or grandparents, we understand the power of influence we have as the eyes of our little kids are watching us, and the ears of those little kids are listening to us. They naturally want to imitate us, their parents or grandparents, and as a result God calls us who are followers of Jesus Christ to be self-controlled, self-disciplined, and always live exemplary lives. We should anticipate that ANYTHING we say, may well be said by our kids and grandkids as they get older. Furthermore, we must consider if our language, our tone of voice, our attitude gives them license to say the same or even worse. And what about our actions, our behavior? Good, God honoring parents and grandparents restrict their personal freedoms so as to always set a good example for their children and grandchildren, right?
So, my friends, let’s pause right here and ponder this very, very important Biblical principle. Deuteronomy 6, Psalm 78, Psalm 145 and many other Scriptures call us to take seriously the influence we automatically have on our family and friends. In so doing, wise, God honoring adults will always restrict their own personal freedoms so as to never give liberty to others to choose a wrong, sinful path.
Now that’s something we need to think deeply about, and I suggest you take a moment to consider if there is anything in your lifestyle that is perceived by others as giving them permission to give the darkness a foothold in their lives!
Today’s Scripture is 1 Cor. 8:9-13.
Choose below to read or listen.
 |  |
Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
Archived back issues of “Walking with Jesus” and other resources are available by clicking here to open our ‘home page’ (or go to HOME at upper right of this page).
Share with friends. Subscribe below for daily “Walking with Jesus”.