Romans 14:14 I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean.
15 But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died.
16 Let not then your good be evil spoken of:
17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
18 For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men.
19 Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.
20 For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence.
21 It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.
22 Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.
23 And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.
1 We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
Even though this passage is speaking directly of what foods we eat, it can be applied to all aspects of our lives. Am I living a life that follows the principles contained in this passage?
I've recently come across a discussion that got me thinking hard about this. How many times do I go about my merry life, doing what I want because it is my right to do so, never caring about how my choices affect others? I need to be careful to consider others in everything that I do. If I am hindering my ministry to others by excercising my rights, I need to give up those rights. It would be better for me to live a more constrictive lifestyle than to cause offense.
For example, I was having a conversation with my sister via text message the other day. After several back and forth texts, I waited an hour or so before receiving another reply. In that reply she explained that she had been with her husband's grandmother, who finds texting to be rude. So, she'd refrained from doing so while visiting with her. Certainly she has the right to text, there's nothing in the Bible saying that texting is a sin, even if you're with others - but she gave up that freedom to avoid causing a rift in that relationship.
As a Christian, I should always be willing to sacrifice my freedoms to serve others.
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