I Corinthians 8:13 “Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause my brother to stumble.”

ME! ME! ME!

People today tend to look out for themselves. That is even true in the church. We are free in Christ, that is true. But shouldn’t we be concerned with our weaker brothers and sisters in Christ? Shouldn’t we be careful to not do anything that would cause them to stumble?

Paul is telling the Corinthians here in this chapter that very thing. Since he did not believe any other gods existed, he knew any meat sacrificed to them was okay to eat. You see they would sell that meat in the marketplace after a pagan priest had offered it to that false god. There were those in the early church who came out of those false religions, and they still struggled with the belief of those false gods. They had not grown in their faith to the point that they understood those gods were false. So, when they saw believers buying that meat and eating it, they were confused. Paul tells them to avoid such meat if it meant hurting the faith of another.

TEACHING MOMENT

What do you feel “free” to do in Christ that your child may not understand? Are there things you do that could confuse a weaker brother or sister in Christ? While it may be okay for you to do it, it is NOT okay to lead someone down the wrong path in their own walk with Christ.

How do we teach our children this truth? We live above reproach. We make sure that every decision we make will not influence them to lose faith or be confused about what they believe. As parents we have to be constantly pointing our children to Christ. Every word and deed needs to help them build their faith and trust Him. Don’t straddle the fence! Make sure your children know exactly why you believe what you believe.