Growing up, our household ate mainly a beef diet with some pork and chicken mixed in occasionally. We rarely ate seafood because we lived in the Midwest on a farm. Fresh fish and other items were not readily available at the time. It was not until later in life that I was introduced to different types of fish, shrimp and lobster. However, I am still not overly fond of seafood as my husband is. His mother made a fabulous oyster casserole for Thanksgiving every year which my better half loved. In all our years of marriage, I have not tried to make it as I do not care for oysters. On the other hand, I love asparagus and red beets which my husband dislikes intensely. So what do we do? We love one another and don't let our food choices upset the applecart! By now, you are probably wondering where I am going with this information. There is a big reason for this as there were food disputes in the Bible.
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| Turkey baked with bacon |
In his letter to the Corinthian Church, Paul had to deal with the many issues these Christians had to confront in a mainly pagan society. One such problem was whether they could eat food offered to idols and not violate their Christian faith (I Corinthians 8:1-13). Some had no problems with eating this food because they knew the idols were not real. However, weaker brothers could be tripped up if they saw someone indulging in food that they knew had been consecrated to a false god. Division arose and probably arguments ensued. Paul clearly wanted there to be peace in the church. His conclusion was to avoid eating meat offered to an idol if it would cause a brother to stumble (vs. 13). Now, he DID NOT say that a person must avoid this when they were at home or with those who were not bothered by this. In other words, use common sense and offer grace to those with whom you disagree. This applies to the many issues we face today.
In the middle of this pandemic we face, people are constantly disagreeing on whether or not to wear a mask or get a vaccine if one is available. As I see it, Satan loves to stir up trouble and divide people both in the church and outside of it. Once again, we must seek wisdom from God and not allow judgement to fall on a brother or sister for their beliefs. We need to realize that circumstances are different for each person. We are not all alike in age, physical well being, or genetic make-up. God never put a label on us that says "One size fits all". Therefore, we must show respect, grace and love for one another in the Body of Christ.
Let me give an example. During the time my husband practiced optometry, he had a patient present with the symptomless disease called glaucoma. It is serious because it can destroy vision in one or both eyes. He recommended a safe medication for the treatment of this disease, but the person didn't think it was necessary. Each time the patient came in, the vision was worse in the eye that was untreated. Eventually, this person went blind in that eye. My husband did all he could to encourage this individual to follow through on using the medicine, but to no avail. The consequences here were permanent.
Today, we are faced with many unknowns and lots of speculation. Medicine is not a perfect science, so we learn as we go along. Yet, we do know that for some this present virus is very dangerous especially if we have pre-existing conditions. Therefore, we need to be cautious before making blanket pronouncements either of commendation or condemnation. It causes division over something each person must decide for themselves. Our job as believers is to share the Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ because we are citizens of heaven. All else can become excess noise that drowns out the Spirit.
Finally, let me close with this reminder from Paul's letter to the Philippians: "So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility, count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests but also to the interest of others "(Phil. 2:1-4).
In our household, I don't serve my husband asparagus or red beets, and he doesn't make me eat oyster casserole. We honor one another out of love and respect. Let us do the same in the Household of believers and defer to one another for quarreling and disputes do not glorify God, only sharing the Good News with others will! Selah!
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