Don't Use Your Freedom to Cause Others to Stumble!

1 Corinthians 8:7-13 

But not everyone possesses this knowledge. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat sacrificial food they think of it as having been sacrificed to a god, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled. 8 But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do. 9 Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol’s temple, won’t that person be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols? 11 So this weak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge.12 When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.

Paul deals with the issue of eating food offered to idols.  Though there was not anything morally wrong with eating this food, some of the believers felt like it was a violation of conscience to do so. Even though some used logic and knowledge to prove it was not sin in and of itself, Paul calls on the mature believers to exercise their freedom by serving the more conscientious believers.  Even though they might know it was okay to eat this meat because food in itself doesn't defile the body, it might cause the others do to do something they feel is wrong.  

Paul concludes by saying if what he eats causes his brother or sister to fall into sin, he will never eat meat again.  The principle Paul is putting forth is that as a Christian we have freedom to do things that are morally neutral, but our freedom needs to be checked on how it affects others in the community.  For instance if you were going out to dinner with someone newly in recovery from alcoholism, though you would be free to have a drink, you might abstain to support them.  The bottom line is we are called to love and serve others based on what might be best for them.  Sometimes we have to check our desires for the good of others in the body of Christ.  

We would do well to adopt Paul's stance in our use of our freedom. Though we don't want to drift into legalism, we don't want to use our knowledge to puff ourselves up but build others up in Christ.