“But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.” 1 Corinthians 8:9 ESV
Reflection: does your right as a Christian trump the weakness of other believers?
There are some churches you can walk into and start wondering whether you walked into a rock concert. The music is so loud, the beat so heavy, and the stage set with lights and smoke machines that there is really no difference to a secular concert. Of course, other than every now and then you hear words like “praise” and “God” and “Jesus” sprinkled in. The band will repeat the music and lyrics to a point where some seem to enter a trance. Clearly this style of “worship” is not for everyone, and they are trying to draw a younger crowd. But, by doing so, they are clearly excluding some who perhaps have gone there a few times before saying “the music is just too loud.” There are clearly many alternatives and choices when it comes to places to worship, but is there a guideline for how to hold a church service?
Paul is dealing with a topic that perhaps is not so relevant to our current world, but we certainly can find wisdom and guidance from. In Corinth, and many ancient cities, there was a common practice of animal sacrifice to idols, for various reasons. Some Christians believed that the meat that had been sacrificed to idols was unclean and could not even be touched, let alone eaten. Others didn’t see any issue with eating the meat. So Paul clarifies this topic by saying “But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.” 1 Corinthians 8:8 NIV. This would obviously go against his own teaching as a Pharisee, who had many rules around what was clean and unclean. But as a follower of Christ, he was no longer bound by those Pharisaic rules. And, he therefore makes this profound observation that food in itself is neither good nor bad in our relationship with God.
That alone has an important consequence in how we think about food today, what we consume. But, before getting too excited, hold that thought for a moment. Because Paul then goes a step further, for us to think about. He says to “Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak.” 1 Corinthians 8:9 NIV. Ahh, now that is profound. That our rights, our freedom in Christ, is not a “blank check” or allowance to do whatever we want, in particular in relation to fellow believers, followers of Christ. So what Paul is saying is that we need to consider how our actions impact others; that we do not cause damage to those who are “weaker” than ourselves. So what does Paul mean here by being “weaker”?
In the example of sacrificed meat, while there is nothing wrong with eating it, some might think so perhaps because of their past. Perhaps because they used to sacrifice such meat themselves to idols, and it was something they no longer could be associated with. So they might therefore consider it wrong for themselves to consume. And while others might not see anything wrong with eating such meat, he is asking them to consider those who struggle with this. Not to trample on their (lack of) knowledge and faith, just because they don’t consider it wrong. To do so, Paul says “Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ.” 1 Corinthians 8:12 ESV So even if there was nothing wrong with eating the meat, the sin would be doing something that hurt your Christian brother. And he summarizes saying “Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.” 1 Corinthians 8:13 NIV
Now, we have a lot to consider here for our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. In the example of churches playing worship music as if it was a rock concert, might not be wrong in itself if it truly is in worship to our God. But, what if there are new believers attending that came out of the band music world, which is often filled with all sorts of evil, from drug use to lewd conduct, a similar worship music might cause them to question their new faith and possibly walk away.
Many churches are very focused on bringing new people to Christ, which of course is part of the great commission. But, just as important, we should all be very concerned about taking care of and nurturing those who are new to the Christian family and therefore “weaker” in faith, to help them mature in their faith and walk with Christ.