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Offend Who?
By Charles Martin, April 20, 1997
"If any of them that
believe not bid you to a feast, and ye be disposed to go; whatsoever is set
before you, eat, asking no question for conscience sake. But if any man say
unto you, This is offered in sacrifice unto idols, eat not for his sake that
showed it, and for conscience sake: for the earth is the Lord's, and the
fulness thereof: Conscience, I say, not thine own, but of the other: for why
is my liberty judged of another man's conscience? For if I by
grace be a partaker, why am I evil spoken of for that for which I give
thanks? Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to
the glory of God. Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the
Gentiles, nor to the church of God: Even as I please all men in all things,
not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.”
- I Corinthians 10:27-33 (KJV)
Over the years, I have seen many
interpretations of this verse; the most obvious one being: “You are allowed
to eat unclean meats as long as you do not ask.” Many people point out that
you do not ask so that you do not offend them when you tell them that you
cannot eat it. I find that this is a cop-out and a very limited
interpretation of the verses. I continue to look towards Matthew 18:3-6
(KJV) for guidance on this verse:
And [Jesus] said, Verily I
say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall
not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble
himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. But
whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were
better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were
drowned in the depth of the sea.
To better understand my point,
read the following story I had written to illustrate the application of these
sets of verses.
Wanda’s Brownies
Wanda Worth was the widow down
the street who felt she was doing her part to obey God’s word. Unfortunately,
she was lacking since she was a Sunday-keeper. Her friend, Steve Hanes, a
block away was a Sabbath- keeper. They met regularly during the week at her
place for lunch and an afternoon on the porch to talk. They have had hundreds
of such talks over the years.
She had become quite aware of
God’s Holy Days through Steve and is very much interested in them, but not
quite convinced that she should keep them. She did learn over the years that,
during a week in the Springtime, Steve would refuse to eat anything with
leavening. This confused her the first few years, but she got quite used to
the custom he observed. During this week each year, she started adjusting the
lunch menu to avoid leavening.
She had gotten quite creative in
her recipes and had finally reached the pinnacle of her cooking when she had
encountered a recipe for brownies without leavening. She had found it in
October and had become really excited to use it during their lunch in that week that
Steve keeps. She knew how Steve absolutely loved chocolate and would really
enjoy this treat.
The time finally came around
this year to keep this unusual custom. She baked the brownies the day before
it started so that Steve could have some every day of this week of leavening
abstinence. She could not wait to see his face.
Steve had failed to do one thing
before this week was upon them. He had decided to take on a diet that
specifically had him avoid other foods; one of the most important being chocolate
(it had said something about the caffeine being bad for him). He had just
started the diet no less than a week before the Days of Unleavened Bread. He
had failed to notify Wanda of this development.
At last, Steve arrived at the
regular time for lunch during the Days of Unleavened Bread. They enjoyed a
tuna casserole with a salad on the side (she had avoided using her favorite
croutons). She told Steve that she had a surprise for him and exited to the
kitchen. He could not wait to see what she had cooked up for dessert since he
truly loved her puddings and gelatin deserts during this time.
Instead, she returns with the
delicious brownies she had made. Steve had already pledged to himself that he
would stick to the diet no matter what. He made the mistake of turning down
the brownies, mentioning that his new diet strictly forbid them.
That day, Steve lost a good
friend and possibly, a fellow companion in God’s Kingdom.
What had become more important
to Steve? Assisting and encouraging his friend to obey God’s Word? Or
worshipping his own temple, thus, offending a fellow man?
I do not teach or encourage
people to eat unclean foods. I only show here that you should not place your
own rules governing your body and mind in higher prominence or more important
than God’s own Word.
I truly believe that God’s Word,
in the verses listed at the beginning is this article, teach us the following
lesson. When it comes to making decisions in the real
world, the decision we make to bring another human being into God’s family
overshadows any attempts to be perfect, whether physical or spiritual. This
fundamental endures in James 5:20
(KJV):
“Let him know, that he which
converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death,
and shall hide a multitude of sins.”
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