If it causes a brother to sin…
Paul makes a statement in the Bible that I have always selfishly wrestled with. Paul states that he would forsake eating meat if it (paul’s eating meat) caused a brother to sin. This was in reference to meet sacrificed to idols, but the thought has permeated (and rightly so) Christian thought. The idea is that if some action causes someone else to sin, then in love you would forsake that action.
So in the back of my mind I fear that one day I would have to stop eating wings, or forsake a delicious steak because it caused a brother (or sister) of mine to stumble. (This is generally why I ask vegans and vegetarians why they choose the diet they choose). Well I have not given up meat, but I did forsake something that I haven’t missed for quite sometime.
This last Sunday, I missed the Superbowl. I didn’t see any of it. No commercials either.
And it wasn’t because the Steelers were playing and as an avid Cleveland fan I didn’t watch in protest. No, I didn’t watch the Superbowl, because there is a friend of mine, here in Philly, that has a gambling problem. So we (myself and other friends) forsook the Superbowl and all its game-day glory for a night of food and video games.
There wasn’t a high degree of spirituality about the room as we played and laughed together. We didn’t;t discuss the deep things of God, but there was a spirit of love. It went without words that the Superbowl wouldn’t be flipped on for a second just to see the score, or that we would watch just the commercials. No, throughout the whole night, we played with the understanding that in love, this was the better choice.
Love is hard. It is costly. It would have been easy to watch the game elsewhere, but I found it invaluable to be there with my friend and to not watch the game at all. For I would rather cast it off entirely, then to cause a brother to sin.
Grace and peace
jeofurry said,
February 3, 2009 at 5:40 pm
This post got linked to my blog as one of those random wordpress deals, but I just had to say how much I appreciate your story. I had just preached on Romans 14 a couple of weeks ago and I enjoyed hearing you story of Scripture being lived out. God bless and shalom.
Jeff
joditucker said,
February 6, 2009 at 12:48 am
Forsaking chocolate would be a biggee for me,if ever that came to be an issue……seriously. The Office after the Super Bowl rocked better than any Super Bowl that I did not watch anyway.
Anne said,
February 19, 2009 at 2:49 pm
While I agree with this post, and must say as a vegetarian that chicken wings could definitely cause me to stumble
, I also think that sometimes worrying about causing other people to stumble gets in the way of community. The reverse gets in the way of community, too, but I just thought I’d throw out a few very typical scenarios.
Scenario 1: The chocolate cake
When women get together (I can’t speak for men), there is often chocolate involved. Often eating too much chocolate. Certainly some women are always trying to diet. Yet, I will definitely – if we are together in a group – try to get a friend to have cake with me. That’s just how it goes. Now if I know she has given it up for lent or something, I obviously won’t lay the pressure on. But in general, for occasions such as birthdays or get togethers, chocolate cake will be eaten in a gluttonly-manner. A similar thing is true of grabbing a beer with friends (if you can’t drink it gets awkward, for whatever ethical or spiritual or worries-about-a-friend reason you’re doing it).
Scenario 2: I’m thinking of going vegan for lent, but I know that doing that will alienate people and cause them to work harder for me. If I’m going somewhere for dinner, either I will have to tell them upfront to cook vegan, which I’ll feel bad about, or I will show up and probably not eat, which they will feel bad about. Vegetarianism is a bad-enough ruiner of community; then you throw out eggs and cheese, for whatever dietary and ethical reasons, and you’re truly sapping community.
Hmmm… not sure I made the points I meant to, just that it is hard to know what to do and there is always a blurried line and we will always make wrong choices… either causing someone to stumble or seeming obnoxiously self-righteous or frustrating community.