God Has Accepted Them
GodWords Newsletter #72
Pass this on. Share the love. Eat some bacon, maybe.
“Bacon is a vegetable.”
So said every vegetarian I’d ever met. This was a popular joke a while back… because bacon is so very tasty, my vegetarian friends all made an exception for it.
Back in the first century, some Christians struggled over whether bacon was a vegetable… or, rather, whether eating bacon was acceptable. This caused more than a little tension in some local churches. Most Jewish Christians had never touched bacon in their lives, while the Gentile Christians probably shared bacon memes and had bacon Christmas ornaments and brought bacon casseroles to potlucks.
Where was I? Oh, yeah. Bacon. So, as it turns out, some of the Christians in Rome were being pretty mean to each other. The apostle Paul had to intervene to calm things down. This is from Romans 14:
Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables… I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died.
Wow. Destroy? That’s pretty harsh, right? Well… maybe not. You see, the conflict had nothing to do with food. The passage also addresses “special days,” like sabbaths and religious festivals. The conflict had nothing to do with that, either. What caused the conflict?
You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt?
Paul’s point was simple: when it comes to “disputable matters,” leave each other alone. We’re not supposed to be all judgy. We’re definitely not supposed treat one another with contempt!
He wrote that it was okay to differ on matters of conscience. It’s better to co-exist peacefully with people of weaker faith than to constantly tell them how wrong they are, treating them like an enemy instead of as a beloved brother or sister.
Paul was not saying that what we believe doesn’t matter. Some things are simply less important than others… and one of those important things is the unity that comes from sincerely loving one another.
When it comes to primary matters - Jesus’ death and resurrection, for example - there’s no room for compromise. When it comes to disputable matters, it’s better to take a hands-off approach than to divide over our disagreements. In fact, those of us whose faith is stronger are to take responsibility for others, adjusting our actions to make sure we don’t cause anyone to stumble. We’re to put our own desires - including our desire to be right about everything - aside, preferring to meet their needs over our own.
The internet is chock full of arguments about less-important things. Rather than dividing over them, let’s put our arms around the shoulders of our brothers and sisters and walk together, in peace and love, and grow together. Jesus prayed for unity among His followers. 1 Corinthians is mostly about unity among believers. Eating bacon isn’t a big deal… being good to one another is. God has accepted them, and we should too.
Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food.
I love you all.
❤️
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The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.
- Proverbs 4:7
Does the Father truly love us? (He does)
Does the Spirit move among us? (He does)
And does Jesus, our Messiah hold forever those He loves? (He does)
Does our God intend to dwell again with us? (He does)
Is He Worthy by Andrew Peterson
Without reservation, Andrew is one of my top five artists of all time. His lyrics are insightful, positive, and stirring. Chris Tomlin covered this song and made it popular, but Andrew is the one who made is awesome. This is a one-shot video… that is, there are no edits. It’s all one take. To hear more of Andrew’s music, with lyrics, visit Awesome Christian Music.
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Wow. You had me at “bacon is a vegetable”