23 “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. 24 No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.
25 Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, 26 for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.”
27 If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience. 28 But
if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do
not eat it, both for the sake of the one who told you and for the sake
of conscience. 29 I am referring to the other person’s conscience, not yours. For why is my freedom being judged by another’s conscience? 30 If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for?
31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 32 Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God — 33 even as I try to please everyone in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.
There are so many "rules" in the Bible, but what I love about the verses today is the focus on freedom! Yes, there may be many boundaries God has established for our protection, and yet, sometimes as Christians, we can get so hung up on being good little rule-followers, that we overlook all the freedom and fun that God intended for us, even this side of Heaven. When we come to know the heart of God, we find that He is not only a protector, disciplinarian, and teacher (and all these things in love), but by looking at His creation all this week, I saw that He likes us to laugh (listened to a baby chuckle), He likes us to play (watched two bunnies in my neighborhood take turns chasing each other), and He likes to have fun (observed two squirrels play peek-a-boo in the tree in my backyard). God whispers to us in everything we see, and when we aren't always looking for the serious stuff, we just might remember that beauty, love, creativity and humor were all invented by God Himself.
In all of our decisions, our actions must be motivated by God's love for us and in us, so that all we do will be for His glory. We ask ourselves, "Is this bringing glory and honor to God?" or "How can I honor God through this action?" And sometimes we can also honor Him by relaxing, having some fun, or enjoying one of the many gifts He has given us on this earth. We can say that because of His immense generosity and grace to us, we don't have to scrutinize every miniscule action to see if it will pass the test -- make wise decisions, absolutely, but scrutinize, no. I want to live well and live for the Lord and other people.
It is with this context that we look at verse 23. “ 'I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive." Are we not in a culture where our rights are everything? I am so thankful for the rights and freedoms that we have in this country, and yes, we do have so many. But, we must examine whether any right or freedom we have is beneficial and constructive at any particular time. In everything, "No one should seek their own good, but the good of others" (verse 24). Sure, we have the right to free speech and to speak our opinions. But when our speech (or Facebook posting) is always with an agenda, no matter what our position, we push others away. Yes, we have the legal ability to drink when we are 21, but if we find that we cannot stop ourselves once we begin, we are not pursuing beneficial and constructive actions. In all things, how do your actions affect others? Think about who these choices affect and how they will affect them. We must not be so concerned with ourselves.
I have been very concerned with myself lately. I think, "Well how will this affect me? Look how this is making me feel? Well, I need to do this for me." I don't want to be that way. Just this weekend, the result of my self-focus was a self-consciousness that didn't allow me to enjoy my time with some dear friends as much as I could have, and the entire time my shoulders remained constantly up by my ears! This is such a good reminder to be others-focused. I need to put my rights, my feelings, and my desires aside, and be more concerned about His.
25 Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, 26 for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.”
27 If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience. 28 But
if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do
not eat it, both for the sake of the one who told you and for the sake
of conscience. 29 I am referring to the other person’s conscience, not yours. For why is my freedom being judged by another’s conscience? 30 If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for?
Look at the freedom here. Let's make this a current day example. If an unbeliever invites you to have a drink with them in a bar after work and you want to go, you can go and have a drink without a bad conscience. For the earth is God's and everything in it! Everything belongs to him, even your glass of wine. But let's say another co-worker is coming with the two of you, and he has a problem with you having a drink, then do not have a drink for the sake of his conscience. Be okay to set your right aside so that he may have a clear conscience. But, if no one opposes, and if everything belongs to God, why not thank Him for it and enjoy it? (Let me be clear, however, that this is for matters not blatently objected in the Bible. For no reason may we "enjoy" someone who is not our spouse, etc.)
I love how The Message paraphrases the rest of this chapter:
29-30But, except for
these special cases (when food has been sacrificed to another god or if the Bible speaks elsewhere about it), I'm not going to walk around on eggshells worrying
about what small-minded people might say; I'm going to stride free and
easy, knowing what our large-minded Master has already said. If I eat
what is served to me, grateful to God for what is on the table, how can I
worry about what someone will say? I thanked God for it and he blessed
it!
31-33So eat
your meals heartily, not worrying about what others say about you—you're
eating to God's glory, after all, not to please them. As a matter of
fact, do everything that way, heartily and freely to God's glory. At the
same time, don't be callous in your exercise of freedom, thoughtlessly
stepping on the toes of those who aren't as free as you are. I try my
best to be considerate of everyone's feelings in all these matters, so that they might be saved; I
hope you will be, too.
I don't think I could have said it any better myself, Paul. I said it last week, but I will remind us again that God richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment! (1 Tim. 6:17). He doesn't desire us to be uptight, check-list Christians. We do desire to have hearts that are holy, but with that, we should be full of joy, laughter, enjoyment and smiles (most days anyway). But all the while, we don't want our desires and freedoms to be as a stumbling block to those around us.
Because, at the end of the day, I don't want it to have been about me.
Coffee with Jesus
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Thursday, May 3, 2012
1 Corinthians 10:14-22 (Credit and Glory)
14 Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. 15 I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 Is
not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in
the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf.
18 Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar? 19 Do I mean then that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons. 22 Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
This section of Scripture refers to the Idol Feasts and Sacrifices that were common in Paul's day...multi-day celebrations to the pagan gods. I'm quite sure none of us have ever seen one of these, let alone been tempted to whole-heartedly participate in one, so what's the big deal?
The deal is who gets the credit.
When you do well at work, who gets the glory? When your kids turn out well, who gets the glory? When you have an ability or talent that is considered to be above the rest, who gets the glory? When you learn lots of things and have increased in knowledge, who gets the glory?
In our culture, we celebrate ourselves and our own good doings when things happen. We think that we are the ones who made everything fall into place. The temptation is to take all the glory for ourselves...forgetting that it is God who blesses His people. Look at these:
"If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! (Matt. 7:11)." And tell them to "...put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment (1 Tim. 6:17). Don't you see? We know where the good things in life come from! We serve a God who doesn't just discipline; He loves to bless us. Let's not rob God of the glory that is solely His! Yes, we must get off the couch and choose to go to work to make a living, but if work is going well, thank God! Literally!
We must flee from the idol of glory.
All the glory belongs to God. That is what this section of Scripture is about.
14 Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. 15 I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf. If you are a Christian, you and the rest of us are one with Christ. We don't just merely say, "I follow Jesus." It is so much more than that. He works in and through us with much more power than any of these other gods of our lives ever could. And He deserves all the glory. He is the reason your deepest longings are answered, your kids succeed, your boss promotes you, and that this crazy day that you thought could never succeed was successful.
18 Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar? 19 Do I mean then that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons. 22 Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy? Are we stronger than he? In Old Testament days, when a Jew offered a sacrifice, he ate part of it as a way of restoring his unity with God, against whom he had sinned. Christians do this when we take communion. But, we also have multiple daily opportunities to unify ourselves with this world.
So, with what are we trying to unify ourselves -- Christ or satan and this world? Do you see the difference -- are we leading two lives, following Christ and the world? For we should only serve One. Paul reminds that we should not offer sacrifices to demons -- our time, our money, our thoughts that help to advance the cause of Godlessness. As verse 21 says, we cannot serve both God and the gods of this world. Any sacrifices we make should be for God's Kingdom, not this current culture.
Christ deserves our total allegiance. And then He gets the glory, because He deserves the glory. What makes us think that we are strong enough to do anything without Him?
May everything you do and everything you receive today remind you of Christ's presence and power in your life. Point to Him in everything, because He always deserves ALL of the credit.
18 Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar? 19 Do I mean then that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons. 22 Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
This section of Scripture refers to the Idol Feasts and Sacrifices that were common in Paul's day...multi-day celebrations to the pagan gods. I'm quite sure none of us have ever seen one of these, let alone been tempted to whole-heartedly participate in one, so what's the big deal?
The deal is who gets the credit.
When you do well at work, who gets the glory? When your kids turn out well, who gets the glory? When you have an ability or talent that is considered to be above the rest, who gets the glory? When you learn lots of things and have increased in knowledge, who gets the glory?
In our culture, we celebrate ourselves and our own good doings when things happen. We think that we are the ones who made everything fall into place. The temptation is to take all the glory for ourselves...forgetting that it is God who blesses His people. Look at these:
"If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! (Matt. 7:11)." And tell them to "...put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment (1 Tim. 6:17). Don't you see? We know where the good things in life come from! We serve a God who doesn't just discipline; He loves to bless us. Let's not rob God of the glory that is solely His! Yes, we must get off the couch and choose to go to work to make a living, but if work is going well, thank God! Literally!
We must flee from the idol of glory.
All the glory belongs to God. That is what this section of Scripture is about.
14 Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. 15 I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf. If you are a Christian, you and the rest of us are one with Christ. We don't just merely say, "I follow Jesus." It is so much more than that. He works in and through us with much more power than any of these other gods of our lives ever could. And He deserves all the glory. He is the reason your deepest longings are answered, your kids succeed, your boss promotes you, and that this crazy day that you thought could never succeed was successful.
18 Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar? 19 Do I mean then that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons. 22 Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy? Are we stronger than he? In Old Testament days, when a Jew offered a sacrifice, he ate part of it as a way of restoring his unity with God, against whom he had sinned. Christians do this when we take communion. But, we also have multiple daily opportunities to unify ourselves with this world.
So, with what are we trying to unify ourselves -- Christ or satan and this world? Do you see the difference -- are we leading two lives, following Christ and the world? For we should only serve One. Paul reminds that we should not offer sacrifices to demons -- our time, our money, our thoughts that help to advance the cause of Godlessness. As verse 21 says, we cannot serve both God and the gods of this world. Any sacrifices we make should be for God's Kingdom, not this current culture.
Christ deserves our total allegiance. And then He gets the glory, because He deserves the glory. What makes us think that we are strong enough to do anything without Him?
May everything you do and everything you receive today remind you of Christ's presence and power in your life. Point to Him in everything, because He always deserves ALL of the credit.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
1 Corinthians 10:14 (Flee)
14 Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.
I ain't much of a Bible scholar, but one of the small tricks I do know is that when you see the word "therefore" that means make sure you look at what you just read because that was the cause and now here comes the effect.
If you didn't read yesterday's post, I highly encourage you to do so because they all build on one another. But the gist of yesterday was this:
-even the Israelites who witnessed God's miracles for them fell into temptation;
-they thought they could control everything and that God would serve them;
-the result was that thousands of them were left dead in the desert (God's doing);
-but God is not out to slay us -- in fact, the last verse reminds us that He ALWAYS gives us a way out of our temptation, but we must run to it!
That word run is exactly what I want to focus on today. There is just one command there in verse 14: flee from idolatry. I can't imagine that the Israelites ever verbally said, "well, God should serve us!" No! I'm quite certain, because I know myself, that it was all an attitude of their hearts and in their thoughts. And that's where idols live -- in our hearts.
When people reduce God to something they can use or control, it's an idol, including if their "god" is the control and use of money, power, prestige, beauty, or another human being. It's a sneaky, slippery slope.
It's no secret, if you know me well, that Josh and I have had a series of financial surprises in our first four years of marriage: lost jobs, no housing, major car repairs, debt collectors calling, and the like. I know many people who have had these experiences in recent years. But needless to say, we were not really in control of our finances for a long time, and just when we thought we finally had it all under control, one of us would find that our contract wasn't being renewed, or the car stopped working, etc. We tried so hard to be in control of our money, and it seemed as if it would never happen. We thought, well, once we have money in the bank and two steady jobs, we'll be fine. It became a god to us.
We thought about it all the time. We cried over it when it was taken from us. We were brutal with each other some nights when the pressure to make ends meet literally "got the best of us" all day, and then nothing was left for each other. It didn't help that I teach in the wealthiest elementary school boundaries in the state...I felt like a pauper compared to these people! We were consumed, and because money had most of our attention and thoughts, it had become a god to us. Our individual relationships with God and then with each other began to suffer -- no one can serve two masters.
Then, we finally got some money. Things began to pan out and fall into place, but unlike we thought, everything wasn't automatically better, and the temptation to allow money to control us was still there. It IS still here. Money and I do battle every day...he wants to control me and I want to be controlled only by God. So, many times, I must flee.
Flee means 'to run away from dangers or pursuers, to move swiftly.' There is a danger with our idols. They take us down a steep slope to no where, promising they will fulfill us but never doing it. So we go deeper, thinking the pot of gold is still just around the corner -- but its a mirage. And pursuer? Oh yes, there is a pursuer. His name is satan, and he uses our idols to direct as much of our attention and affection away from Jesus as he can.
We must flee from that! Sometimes we must flee physically, if it's a physical temptation (sex, drugs, stealing), and other times it's fleeing from a thought (that if I could just have ____, it would all be better). Both are equally important, and the only safe place to run during pursuit, is to Jesus and to His Word. If the Israelites had done that, their spiritual lives with God would have been renewed, and perhaps they wouldn't have lost their physical lives, too. Idols will do that to us -- they kill the very parts that God is working to grow in us.
Find some Scripture that applies to your temptations, and place them wherever you are during the day: work, home, in the car. Say these verses to yourself until they sink in, and ask Jesus to give you the Truth you need in that moment, because the temptations are all lies.
Above all, we must flee. We must make the choice in the moment of weakness. But He will ALWAYS provide a way out! God never leaves us alone in our temptations. But we must choose it.
For if we don't, we die.
I ain't much of a Bible scholar, but one of the small tricks I do know is that when you see the word "therefore" that means make sure you look at what you just read because that was the cause and now here comes the effect.
If you didn't read yesterday's post, I highly encourage you to do so because they all build on one another. But the gist of yesterday was this:
-even the Israelites who witnessed God's miracles for them fell into temptation;
-they thought they could control everything and that God would serve them;
-the result was that thousands of them were left dead in the desert (God's doing);
-but God is not out to slay us -- in fact, the last verse reminds us that He ALWAYS gives us a way out of our temptation, but we must run to it!
That word run is exactly what I want to focus on today. There is just one command there in verse 14: flee from idolatry. I can't imagine that the Israelites ever verbally said, "well, God should serve us!" No! I'm quite certain, because I know myself, that it was all an attitude of their hearts and in their thoughts. And that's where idols live -- in our hearts.
When people reduce God to something they can use or control, it's an idol, including if their "god" is the control and use of money, power, prestige, beauty, or another human being. It's a sneaky, slippery slope.
It's no secret, if you know me well, that Josh and I have had a series of financial surprises in our first four years of marriage: lost jobs, no housing, major car repairs, debt collectors calling, and the like. I know many people who have had these experiences in recent years. But needless to say, we were not really in control of our finances for a long time, and just when we thought we finally had it all under control, one of us would find that our contract wasn't being renewed, or the car stopped working, etc. We tried so hard to be in control of our money, and it seemed as if it would never happen. We thought, well, once we have money in the bank and two steady jobs, we'll be fine. It became a god to us.
We thought about it all the time. We cried over it when it was taken from us. We were brutal with each other some nights when the pressure to make ends meet literally "got the best of us" all day, and then nothing was left for each other. It didn't help that I teach in the wealthiest elementary school boundaries in the state...I felt like a pauper compared to these people! We were consumed, and because money had most of our attention and thoughts, it had become a god to us. Our individual relationships with God and then with each other began to suffer -- no one can serve two masters.
Then, we finally got some money. Things began to pan out and fall into place, but unlike we thought, everything wasn't automatically better, and the temptation to allow money to control us was still there. It IS still here. Money and I do battle every day...he wants to control me and I want to be controlled only by God. So, many times, I must flee.
Flee means 'to run away from dangers or pursuers, to move swiftly.' There is a danger with our idols. They take us down a steep slope to no where, promising they will fulfill us but never doing it. So we go deeper, thinking the pot of gold is still just around the corner -- but its a mirage. And pursuer? Oh yes, there is a pursuer. His name is satan, and he uses our idols to direct as much of our attention and affection away from Jesus as he can.
We must flee from that! Sometimes we must flee physically, if it's a physical temptation (sex, drugs, stealing), and other times it's fleeing from a thought (that if I could just have ____, it would all be better). Both are equally important, and the only safe place to run during pursuit, is to Jesus and to His Word. If the Israelites had done that, their spiritual lives with God would have been renewed, and perhaps they wouldn't have lost their physical lives, too. Idols will do that to us -- they kill the very parts that God is working to grow in us.
Find some Scripture that applies to your temptations, and place them wherever you are during the day: work, home, in the car. Say these verses to yourself until they sink in, and ask Jesus to give you the Truth you need in that moment, because the temptations are all lies.
Above all, we must flee. We must make the choice in the moment of weakness. But He will ALWAYS provide a way out! God never leaves us alone in our temptations. But we must choose it.
For if we don't, we die.
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