1 Corinthians 10
In June, 1982 a performer named Adam Ant
had a number one song on the United Kingdom called, “Goody Two Shoes.” (It made it to number 12 in the U.S.) The
song asks, “Don’t drink. Don’t smoke. What do you do? Subtle innuendos follow. Must
be something inside.” The gist of the
song is that everyone does something that others judge, even if they themselves
try to hide it.
As Paul deals with the Corinthians they
are dealing with judgment on their behavior because they sometimes ate meat
that was sacrificed to other gods – which are not gods but demons. The question
being, “Can we rightly enjoy something that was dedicated to the demonic?” Paul’s response is, “Of course not!” If a Christian knows that the food was part
of a sacrifice to a false god he or she should not eat it. Why? Because it is
evil, or contaminated? No. Meat is meat. Food is food. They are good gifts
given to us by God, and we receive them with thanks. But if someone wants to
direct our thanks away from the one true God or focus our attention on their god
with the food set before us, as witness against them, we refrain from it.
This is one of the passages we point to when
we argue that it is part of Christian freedom to drink alcoholic beverages. God
created fermentation as a good gift to gladden the heart and to celebrate
without over indulgence. That being said, if our neighbor invites us to have a
beer and we are so inclined (and it is not harmful to us or illegal to us) we
are free to do so. If our neighbor wants to sit down and drink until we are
pukingly drunk, we should abstain as this is an ungodly use of God’s creation.
Unfortunately, the “Goody Two Shoes”
mentality sets us up with a list of rules that say some things are wrong that the
Bible does not say are wrong. This steals our joy in the freedom and forgiveness
Jesus won for us. If we are constantly obsessing with what others think or if some
choice will offend God when He clearly hasn’t forbidden it there won’t be much
joy in our lives. Instead, as forgiven people, it is given to us to enjoy God’s
creation as He has designed it. Yet out of love for God and our neighbor we can,
and even should, refrain from that freedom in witness to God’s salvation in our
lives if the situation calls for it.
Lord, give me wisdom to recognize Your good
gifts in creation and to enjoy them rightly. Help me never offend others in
selfishness. Amen.
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