Feedom Limited by Love

In my final blog after my Canada to Mexico bike ride I offered a few philosophical musings one of which was, "Beer, ice cream and big juicy hamburgers taste a lot better when you've been on your bike all day." Indeed! Yesterday after working in the yard under the hot sun for an hour or two I had a cold beer. I don't think a beer has ever tasted better! In fact, I told my wife, "That's the smallest beer I ever drank!", since it seemed to go down so well.

On the other hand, I remember an occasion when my wife and I were having dinner in a restaurant and I was enjoying a cold beer with my meal. A good friend and his wife came into the restaurant and greeted us before sitting down at the table next to ours. He was a fellow pastor from a denomination that views any use of alcohol as being sinful. I immediately felt uncomfortable. I continued to drink my beer, but I have to confess that I didn't enjoy it at all.

What was the problem? Paul put his finger on it in Romans 14. "Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall." (vs. 19-21)

The problem was not that I suddenly realized I was sinning. I was not. The problem was that I didn't want to be doing anything that might cause someone else to stumble. I believe my friend was strong enough in his faith that my use of alcohol did not cause him to fall, but I was troubled, nevertheless, because he was a dear friend in Christ and I didn't want to offend him, tempt him, or even treat his understanding of right action (not using alcohol) with contempt.

Two points grow out of this discussion. We must always be aware of how our actions can effect others. We need to be concious of the example we are setting or the standards we are upholding by our actions.

Second we must always care enough about those around us to limit our freedom if exercising it might cause them to fall. Paul writes: "If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died. Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." (vs. 15-17) Since our brother or sister in Christ is so precious to our Lord that he died for them, we ought to care enough to try to avoid anything that might cause them to stumble.

"For freedom Christ has set you free" Paul wrote in Galatians 5:1. However, if we use our freedom in such a way that it destroys the faith of a brother or sister in Christ, then what we consider good will be spoken of as evil. The love of Christ should empower us to place limits on our own freedom out of concern for a brother or sister in Christ. It's the least we can do for one for whom Christ died, and it's a practical demonstration of our Savior's love.