Choose Charity over Liberty

“Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.” (1Co 8:1 AV)

Paul goes on the explain what he meant by what he just wrote.  He uses the example of eating meat once offered to idols.  He goes a bit further and uses the example of someone who would go to a feast at a place were the meat was once offered to idols.  The one who understands that idols are not real and they are mere statues may not be offended at eating leftovers from a pagan practice because it is a good and cheap meal.  The meat would be discarded anyway and the pagan worship service has been long gone.  It is no more than eating meat that is just that.  Food.  Along comes someone who is considering Christ, or newly saved, sees the Christian eating a meal from meat once offered to an idol, and assumes the Christian condones and supports the false god.  The believer may well judge that it is just meat.  Nothing more.  Nothing less.  He has knowledge.  However, no being sensitive to the lack of faith or maturity in others causes another to fall away or not get saved at all.  This is what Paul is driving at.  Let me give an example.

 Where I come from, it is not uncommon to see someone selling a chicken BBQ from a pit with picnic tables around.  A small country wayside where one can get a half-chicken and salt potatoes is amazing.  However, let us assume that the chickens were left over from a fund-raiser for a church which preached heresy.  Those selling the chickens are not returning the proceeds to the cultish assembly.  They are serving the meal for their own economic gain.  Perhaps this is a side business and they also donated part of their material to the fund-raiser.  Now, they are using what is left to recoup some of their costs.  You sit down, enjoy your BBQ, and go away completely satisfied.  You know the money you paid is not going back into the cult’s treasury.  You know the one cooking the meal belongs to that church, but the funds are going into his own pockets.  Along comes someone who was saved out of that cult and sees you.  He knows where those chickens came from.  He is offended and assumes your actions condone the existence of that cult.  Your knowledge frees your conscience to partake.  But, another man’s conscience does not.  Charity is the better choice here.

 How other feel matters.  This is a lost concept in our circles today.  We go where we want to go.  We listen to what we want to listen to.  We dress the way we dress.  We do what we want to do without any regard as to how it affects others.  Our liberty is the most important of all possessions.  We feel as though we are being unfairly judged and controlled because of the weak conscience of another.  But charity is the principle thing here.  We can rationalize away our choices.  And be right about it, too.  But logic and rationality are not the point.  How others perceive our liberty is.  Heaven forbid we should pass up a BBQ, listen only to godly music, or dress in an appropriate manner because someone else might be offended.  How dare they tell me how to live my life?  This is the finer points of Christian charity.  To be sensitive towards others and how our actions may affect them is a great step of spiritual maturity.  To limit our liberty for the conscience of another is a grown-up thing to do.  It is charity.