Bad food...Good servants

Read It:  1 Corinthians 8:7-13

Since some have become so accustomed to idols until now, they still think of the food they eat as food offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. 8 “Food will not bring us close to God.” We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. 9 But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if others see you, who possess knowledge, eating in the temple of an idol, might they not, since their conscience is weak, be encouraged to the point of eating food sacrificed to idols? 11 So by your knowledge those weak believers for whom Christ died are destroyed. 12 But when you thus sin against members of your family, and wound their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if food is a cause of their falling, I will never eat meat, so that I may not cause one of them to fall. 

Learn It:

Paul is speaking with the people who lived in Corinth and the people there were a mixture of both former Jews and former pagans (gentiles).  Jews never ate anything sacrificed to idols but Gentiles did.  The issue Paul is addressing is an argument that Gentiles were still eating that food that was sacrificed and the Jews felt that they should stop doing that.  Paul addresses the issue by showing that since no other god exists but God alone then there really is no reason to be upset at the eating of this food.  At the same time, Paul also realizes that it will be harder for some people to accept this on both sides of the argument and encourages them to not point out this 'fault'.  Paul ends his talk on food by saying that he will never again eat meat if it means that by doing so people will continue to come closer to God in Christ Jesus.  Paul is willing to do what it takes to make sure that nothing stops people from following Jesus.  

Share It:

What are some things in your life that you see other people doing and it hinders your relationship with God?  It could be music, food, clothes, hair, tattoos, or anything else that maybe hinders you or even them from having a full and complete relationship with God.  What are some ways that you can encourage yourself or others to continue to have a strong faith and not allow those kinds of things to weaken it?  How could you help someone who does have something that is a stumbling block that you thought of above?  Talk about these topics and anything else that comes up during your conversation.

Live It:

Take this week and think about the things that might be hard for you or others and just pray about it.  Talk about it with your family and set goals to work toward having those things not bother or affect you as much as they do now.  Blessings!

Food vs. Words

Read It: Matthew 15:10-12 (NRSV)

10 Then he called the crowd to him and said to them, “Listen and understand: 11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.” 12 Then the disciples approached and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?” 

Learn It:

In the Old Testament there are different laws about what types of food you can and cannot eat.  For Jesus to basically say that you can eat any kind of food goes against a number of laws that the Pharisees hold onto as part of their faith.  Jesus tries to point out that the greater evil of the mouth is not what goes in (food and water) but what comes out (our words).  When I was little I used to hear and even say the phrase, "sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me".  I have since learned that that phrase is not true at all.  There are things that we say that is not nice or helpful and when we're angry we even say things that are downright mean.  We may later feel sick for things we ate or how much we ate but there are times when the words we say can cause great trouble and rifts.  Words are more dangerous than the food we eat.

Share It:

What might be some things recently that you have said that you later regretted saying because you realize that it might have been wrong or hurtful to say?  Why do you think that we sometimes say things before we think them through?  What are some specific ways that we can use words to build each other up?  What are ways that we can be more careful of the words we choose to say?  

Live It:

This next week spend some time building people up with words of kindness.  Take this week to really think about the words that come out of your mouth before you say them.  When you are talking to someone really listen to what they have to say, think about how to respond, then respond to them with your carefully chosen words.  See how spending some intentional time choosing words might affect your conversations this week and in the future.  

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Please post comments with your experience with the share it or live it part of this weeks post.  Let others know if you and your family found this useful.