9/20/13: Bill and I met in a little storefront church in Pennsylvania. The pastor often joked that the motto of the church was, “Until we eat again,” because the explosive growth of that church was partially attributed to food. We had a catered dinner before Bible study on Wednesday nights. Each person paid a set amount to eat. We loved it because there was a ridiculously low family rate – at least low for our gang of kids. Bill and I had our very first conversation at a table at that dinner, where we quickly established that we had nothing in common except for kids and our love for the Lord. That was enough for a friendship, and here we are today, nearly 20 years later. Most gatherings of believers of any faith include food, so it’s no surprise that, in Romans 14:13-23, Paul uses food as an example of how we should behave. …. In verses 13-14 he says, “Forget about deciding what’s right for each other.” Oh, boy. You mean everyone doesn’t have to do what I say is right? Paul says we’re not to make someone’s life more difficult than it already is. He was convinced that everything is holy. We’re the ones who contaminate it by the way we treat it or talk about it. …. In verses 15-21 he tells us to stop making a big issue over what people eat. Criticizing is not loving. You risk turning people away from Christ (he puts it more strongly) – people for whom Christ died. We can extrapolate from this that food isn’t the only issue here. Our way or the highway is not the way to win people to Jesus! …. God’s kingdom is not about what goes into your stomach. “It’s what God does with your life as he sets it right, puts it together and completes it with joy.” Our job is simply to serve God wholeheartedly, using all our energy to get along with each other. “Help others with encouraging words; don’t drag them down by finding fault.” In other words, do nothing that might interfere with love. …. In verses 22-23, he says, “Cultivate your own relationship with God, but don’t impose it on others…If the way you live isn’t consistent with what you believe, then it’s wrong.” The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines integrity as “the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness” and “the state of being whole and undivided.” Wikipedia says integrity is a concept of consistency of actions, values, etc. Although Paul has said we’re to be ourselves, I think he’s telling us there’s room to grow into integrity, into the “ourselves” that God wants us to be, and we need to give everyone else room to grow as God grows them. Stay tuned…
Posted on: Fri, 20 Sep 2013 17:27:34 +0000
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