1Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that "all of us possess knowledge." This "knowledge" puffs up, but love builds up. 2If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. 3But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.
4Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that "an idol has no real existence," and that "there is no God but one." 5For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth--as indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords"-- 6yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.
7However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, through former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. 8Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. 9But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. 10For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol's temple, will he not be encouraged, if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? 11And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. 12Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. 13Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.
I have to admit. I don't "get" the idea of leaving food out for your "god" to eat. Doesn't make any sense to me. I seen pictures of people leaving the food out before their household "gods" but it just seems silly to me. Like who eats it? The idol certainly doesn't...it's made out of wood or stone or ????? So, if the food isn't gone, what do people make of it? I know they do it with the idea of appeasing their "god", so if the food isn't eaten, does that mean that their "god" is mad at them still? Just doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
But on the other hand.... If someone where to offer me the food that was placed before the idol I would feel odd eating it. And I'm not sure why. Well, maybe... I think it's that I wouldn't want to offend someone. The people with all sincerity, placed the food there before that idol, and I were just to eat it, I would be making a mockery of what they believe.
I know that what they believe is wrong, but would it be right to make a mockery of it? So then how would I approach that type of situation. I wouldn't want to give the impression that I was honouring their "god" by not eating it, but also don't want to mock their faith BUT at the same time I do want to say...this is wrong, you are believing falsely and excersing all this energy into some "belief" that will not attain you the end that you desire.
So I know that this really isn't what Paul is talking about in this passage.
What Paul is talking about it .... don't do something in your walk with the Lord, even if YOU know it's okay to do, if it causes another true believer in the Lord to stumble in his walk.
For instance, if I think it's okay to scrapbook on Sunday afternoons, but it seriously causes another person to have troubles in their relationship with God, then I MUST stop scrapbooking on Sunday. It's as simple as that. I need to act in a why that helps other people in their relationship with God, not hinders them.
I picked scrapbooking as an example because
1. it doesn't cause other people to work on Sunday
2. it's a quiet at home type of thing that I do while the rest of the house is quiet
3. it focuses me on my family andgives me think about what I want to do as a mom-mom raising my boy and caring for my hubbie and
4. it is my God-given duty at this stage in my life.
I can't keep scrapbooking on Sundays simply because I know it's okay. That makes me a puffed up person who doesn't care about the larger family of God 'because I KNOW BETTER' kind of attitude. That is not what we are called to. We are called to care about our brothers and sisters in Christ.
It doesn't mean that I can't spend time with that person helping them to grow in their relationship to God. In fact, I'm actually encouraged to do so, since it means that (generally speaking) that they are misunderstanding something about God and being in relationship with him. It doesn't mean that at some point that struggling believer will understand things differently, and see that we have freedom in the Lord, and that we don't need to be bound by rules of expectation. We just need to be bound by the laws of God. Sometimes people don't understand the difference between the two.
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