Being Considerate

04/29/2011

Good Morning!

Today is a special day for Miss N and myself. It is the day we celebrate welcoming our daughter into our lives. 2:09 a.m. Through the years we have had our ups and downs, laughter and tears, days of promise and days of trial. Who doesn’t have these things? She is very well spoken … and very outspoken. And she still is one of the joys of our life. Happy birthday, Heather!!!

Well, I truly missed out Bible study last night. Euell and Patsy are out of town at some Gospel music thingy, so we took a night off. I did get to see my buddy, TeeitupMichael. And I played nine holes with Harold Gunnin who is a grandpa again. But I missed getting into the Word. Here is where we are headed:

1 Corinthians 8 (New International Version, ©2011)
Concerning Food Sacrificed to Idols
1 Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that “We all possess knowledge.” But knowledge puffs up while love builds up. 2 Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know. 3 But whoever loves God is known by God.[a]
4 So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that “An idol is nothing at all in the world” and that “There is no God but one.” 5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”), 6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.
7 But not everyone possesses this knowledge. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat sacrificial food they think of it as having been sacrificed to a god, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled. 8 But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.
9 Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol’s temple, won’t that person be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols? 11 So this weak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. 12 When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.
Footnotes:
a. 1 Corinthians 8:3 An early manuscript and another ancient witness think they have knowledge do not yet know as they ought to know. But whoever loves truly knows.

The overriding theme of this chapter is love. Many of the Christians in Corinth understood that idols were nothing but stones, so eating food “sacrificed” to them really didn’t make any difference. But there were some young Christians who were still struggling with the transition from their former life to the new life in Christ … so meat sacrificed to an idol was defiled and eating the meat defiled them. So Paul instructs the “more mature” Christians to be considerate and not eat meat if it causes an issue.

Paul’s teaching is appropriate for us today. Our freedom in Christ allows us to do things we feared doing before … but at the same time, we must be considerate of those around us who haven’t yet reached a level that allows them to be so free. We do this because we love our new brother or sister in Christ. Loving each other is the telltale sign of a true relationship with Jesus Christ.

I hope each of you will have a blessed weekend. Continue to pray for the families who lost loved ones in the storms that passed through night before last.

Agape’


Mr. Jim