Stumble
Reading: 1 Corinthians 8; Psalm 135
10 You see, this is what can happen: Weak Christians who think it is wrong to eat this food will see you eating in the temple of an idol. You know there’s nothing wrong with it, but they will be encouraged to violate their conscience by eating food that has been dedicated to the idol. 11 So because of your superior knowledge, a weak Christian, for whom Christ died, will be destroyed. 12 And you are sinning against Christ when you sin against other Christians by encouraging them to do something they believe is wrong. 13 If what I eat is going to make another Christian sin, I will never eat meat again as long as I live—for I don’t want to make another Christian stumble. (1 Corinthians 8:10-13 NLT)
Paul isn’t merely writing another rule—laying down another law—for Christians to follow. Unless you want to consider this a “law of love.” Paul is expressing an attitude of the heart that puts the well-being of others before one’s own preference and liberty. We’ll probably look at this again when we work our way through Paul’s letter to the believers in Rome in a few weeks!
Those of us who are strong and able in the faith need to step in and lend a hand to those who falter, and not just do what is most convenient for us. Strength is for service, not status. (Romans 15:1 MSG)
Each of us influences other people. We know that we influence some people (family, friends, people we work with, neighbors, employers, employees, business associates, fellow Christians), but we seldom know just how much, and in what ways, we influence them. We also influence others without even knowing it!
I’m not saying we should become paranoid about this, nor that we should constantly second-guess ourselves on every decision, word, or action. I am saying that, like doctors who take the Hippocratic oath before beginning their practice of medicine, we should be guided by a commitment to “First of all, do no harm!”
I read this from David’s Psalm 69 during my devotion time each morning. David wrote it as a prayer. I read it as a prayer. I invite you to pray it with me…
Prayer:
5 O God, you know how foolish I am; my sins cannot be hidden from you. 6 Don’t let those who trust in you stumble because of me, O Sovereign Lord Almighty. Don’t let me cause them to be humiliated, O God of Israel. (Psalm 69:5-6 NLT)