A Fragile Faith: Handle With Care Series

Many of you love to measure your progress. Tools are available to measure your Body Mass Index where you assess your body fat. You have tools available where you can measure your carbon footprint so to know your impact upon the climate. Athletes will measure the size of their biceps. You can even monitor your social media influence over the Internet. Yet, few Christians have a significant handle on how to measure their spiritual maturity. How do I measure myself in terms of my growth as a believer? We measure our maturity by measuring how willing we are to forgo are freedoms.

Today, we read a first century text that purports to do just that – to measure the Christian’s maturity by the yardstick of forgoing his rights. Only this test is quite unusual. The test in question is the freedom to eat what is in front of you.

Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up. 2 If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. 3 But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.

4 Therefore, 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.” 5 For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”— 6 yet 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.

7 However, 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. 8 Food will not commend us 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 right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For 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? 11 And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. 12 Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble” (1 Corinthians 8:1-13).

The way in which the Bible purports to measure spiritual maturity through this one example is through food. And honestly it causes many who are relatively new to the Bible to scratch their heads. A fair reading of 1 Corinthian 8 will inevitablity lead to the question, “What does what I eat have to do with what I believe?” Meat offered to idols doesn’t make a major moral dilemma for you!

As things go, Americans have little problem with food in general. Whether it’s Julia Childs, Martha Stewart, or the South’s food celebrity, Paula Deen, there is an entire cottage industry related to food. There’s even a food channel! We love our delectable deserts as we count our calories. All the while, the average American likes his freedom to eat.

• Studies show that the average American consumes 2,700 calories a day.

• He drinks about a gallon of coke in a week.

• In a year’s time, he eats approximately 29 lbs. of French fries and another 23 lbs. in pizza alone.

No wonder why so much attention is given to eating healthy! Here in the beginning stages of 2011, many of your New Year resolutions have to do with diets. So how does all this relate to your spiritual maturity? Since September 11, 2001 (the day in which the Twin Towers collapsed), our nation has attuned to the gospel of tolerance. One of the fundamental questions of our day is, “How can people whose different beliefs, practices, and values differ from one another so greatly and yet live together?” How can I live with your beliefs when your beliefs deeply distress me and offend me? Our culture has overwhelming answered the questions with one word: TOLERANCE. The words “mother” and “father” will be removed from U.S. passport applications and replaced with gender-neutral terminology, the State Department says. “The words in the old form were ‘mother’ and ‘father,’” said Brenda Sprague, deputy assistant Secretary of State for Passport Services. “They are now ‘parent one’ and ‘parent two.’” Paul has words of wise counsel for us to move beyond the impasse when two people who differ try to live together.