Thoughts From 1Corinthians 10 - Part 4

 Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy? Are we stronger than he?23 “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. 24 No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.25 Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, 26 for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.”27 If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience. 28 But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, both for the sake of the one who told you and for the sake of conscience. 29 I am referring to the other person’s conscience, not yours. For why is my freedom being judged by another’s conscience? 30 If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for?31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 32 Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God— 33 even as I try to please everyone in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.

      Not all activities are spelled out in the Bible. For example, sports, movies, video games, smoking, abortion, vaccines, websites, democracy, Halloween - none of that is mentioned in the Bible so when it comes to participating in any of these, we have to use spiritual principles. Andy Stanley had a series about such things called "The Best Question Ever" where he encouraged people not to ask is it a sin but to ask is it the wise thing to do? Paul gives us even more insight on how to determine if it is the wise thing to do in this passage.

     First he says to ask if it's beneficial. For example, does the Bible say buying lottery tickets is a sin? No. Does buying scratch off cards benefit you? No.  Gambling is always designed mathematically to benefit the house not your house. It's a form of entertainment and God isn't opposed to entertainment, but He wants us to manage His money well and this is not wise management. The loss of His money He has given us to meet our needs benefits no one in our family.

      

      Second, Paul asks if it's constructive. For example, will binging a Romcom on Netflix or Prime build up your character or might it soften your views on premarital sex, homosexuality, external versus internal beauty and distort your views on love emphasizing eros over agape? Our goal as Christians should be to become more like Christ which is a building or constructive process. Things working against that should be avoided.

     Third, Paul asks does it affect onlookers negatively either in their growth or their conversion? In the past we might have been able to privatize our activities better, but now with video cameras in everyone's hands and social media a click away from broadcasting our activities to the world, we have to be careful who is watching. Having a Harry Potter birthday party or posting trick or treating videos might stumble someone coming out of witchcraft or the occult. Posting dinner photos drinking wine might stumble an alcoholic. Would posting videos of a Morgan Wallen concert or a Forrest Frank concert bring people closer to belief? Are we thinking about others or ourselves as we exercise our freedom?

 

    Lastly Paul asks does it glorify God? How can we know? One hint is can we do it and thank God for it. Imagine praying, "Thank you God for this joint I'm about to smoke." Can you really in good conscience do that? Maybe, but it seems weird to me. "Thank you, God, for giving someone the mental genius to invent Tik Tok which I'm about to spend 30 minutes on." Can we really say that? Thank you, God, that you supplied me with $200 so I can go hear Taylor Swift sing songs about non-Christian stuff". Ouch. My sister might fight me on that one. She would probably come back at me with "Thank you God that I can waste 2.5 hours a night watching baseball."

       The point is, how badly do you want to become more like Christ? How badly do you want to be His spotless bride when He returns. How badly do you want to bring others along with you? The answer should be "More Than Anything!"