START WITH SCRIPTURE:
1 Corinthians 8:1-13
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OBSERVE:
This passage is another answer in the list of questions that the Corinthian Christians have submitted to Paul. The issue relates to whether Christians are permitted to eat meat that has been sacrificed to idols in pagan temples and then sold in the Corinthian marketplace or served at banquets.
At first glance the modern reader might be tempted to skip over this passage, dismissing it as an irrelevant issue that no longer relates to our time. But there are deeper issues at stake here.
Paul begins by addressing the criteria for decision-making about lifestyle choices and behavior. Which is most important in making a decision — knowledge or love? Although Paul doesn’t denigrate knowledge in itself, he makes it clear that love always trumps knowledge.
There is pretty good evidence that the Corinthian church was dealing with a faction that believed they had received a “deeper revelation” from God that gave them “superior knowledge”. They were even called the pneumatikoi, the “spiritual ones.” It may be that they were even “proto-gnostics,” forecasting the movement of Gnosticism that would arise in the church in the next century. Gnosticism would place a high premium on a “hidden knowledge” that they believed had been revealed to them and not to the “ordinary folks”.
Here Paul opposes that notion. First, such thoughts of superior knowledge puff up with a sense of false pride. Second, those who think they have this knowledge aren’t as smart as they think they are.
Love, as he will later point out decisively in 1 Corinthians 13, is the greatest spiritual gift of all. Here he points out that:
Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.
And in a clever turn of phrase he points out that while some think they know something that they really don’t, he says:
if anyone loves God, the same is known by him.
Which is better — to know stuff, or to be known by God? The answer is obvious.
Then he deals with the issue. The “knowledgeable” folks were arguing that the meat that was sacrificed to idols and offered for sale in the meatmarkets, or served at the tables of their hosts, was perfectly ok to eat. The “knowledgeable” make a good argument — there is only one God, and one Lord Jesus Christ; the idols aren’t real. Therefore, the meat sacrificed to the false idols is just that — meat.
Paul agrees with the premise of their argument so far. The idols aren’t real, the idol worship is phony, and the meat is harmless.
However, he sees something more here than mere theological logic. He poses a hypothetical question. What if someone who is of weaker conscience and still a little immature in their faith, either eats or sees the more mature Christian eating this “idol meat?” They might think that it gives some kind of authority to the gods represented by the sacrificial meat, and they might be confused about their exclusive relationship with Christ. And then they stumble in their faith.
So Paul is saying very clearly that although the Christian is “free” from dietary laws, and ritualistic prohibitions, their act of eating “idol meat” in front of other weaker Christians might be a stumbling block.
The bottom line, he says, is that even though they may be free from prohibitions about what they can eat and drink, they should have a care about how their actions might affect the conscience of others. In other words, love should guide all their actions, not merely knowledge or freedom.
Paul applies the same argument to the observation of special days and diet when he writes to the Romans:
I know, and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean of itself; except that to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. Yet if because of food your brother is grieved, you walk no longer in love. Don’t destroy with your food him for whom Christ died. Then don’t let your good be slandered, for God’s Kingdom is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:14-17).
APPLY:
After careful analysis, it is easy to see where this passage applies to our everyday lives as Christians. There are moral imperatives that are made clear in Scripture about how we are to live, such as respect for life, sexual morality, honesty, etc. But then there are other gray areas that all of us deal with.
For example, one person eats only vegetables, and another eats meat. There is no inherent right or wrong about either diet from a moral or spiritual perspective, but they each should respect one another. And the vegetarian should refrain from judging the carnivore, and vice versa.
Or, what is becoming far more prevalent in Christian circles, the use of alcohol. The Scriptures don’t prohibit the use of wine in moderation, within certain boundaries. However, for folks who come from certain traditions where abstention is strictly observed, or for folks who may have a problem with addictive personalities, the presence of wine at a Christian gathering might pose real problems.
Another Christian might argue that wine is simply an enjoyable enhancement to a meal, and he is free to use it in moderation — but in the presence of the Christian who has been taught strict prohibition or the Christian who has struggled with alcoholism, this might be a real stumbling block. So the question comes down to “what is the loving thing to do?”
In all those matters that are not of a clearly defined moral nature, we are free to exercise our own discretion. However, our ultimate criterion for behavior is not knowledge or freedom, but love. How do our actions affect others:
for whose sake Christ died.
RESPOND:
I find that when I am most immature in my behavior is when I am justifying myself based on my “knowledge” or my “freedom”. When I am closest to God is when I base my actions on the principle of love.
For instance, a few years ago I became a fan of the somewhat extreme “Walking Dead” series, which is full of violence and creepy cannibalistic corpses. I’m not sure why I enjoyed it, but I was able to watch it while compartmentalizing it as entertainment. My wife, however, found it more than just creepy, and downright disturbing. So, out of courtesy to her, I watched it when she was not around. (Just a footnote: when my local cable company dropped the channel that carried “The Walking Dead” I couldn’t watch it anymore. To be quite honest, I didn’t really miss it once it was gone. So, to insist on something that is not necessary anyway does seem to be the height of selfishness).
Lord, I thank you that we have been set free from the burden of legalism and prohibitions by your grace. I pray that you will add to that grace the power and discernment of love, that is careful to do only good and never harm to others, even if it involves the limitation of our own freedom. Amen.
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