1-3The question keeps coming up regarding meat that has been offered up to an idol: Should you attend meals where such meat is served, or not? We sometimes tend to think we know all we need to know to answer these kinds of questions—but sometimes our humble hearts can help us more than our proud minds. We never really know enough until we recognize that God alone knows it all. (The Message)
Humility never seems to come easy. In this year of extreme political gamesmanship humility is the last thing that you see on the news or read about. It seems like everyone has the right answer and no one seems willing to recognize that they don't have all the answers to the problems that face our country and world today.
Paul was never a man to shy away from giving answers but even he recognizes that there is no simple answer that always works. Here he is addressing the issue of meat offered to idols and he knows that the meat is not changed because it was offered to an idol and that God would not love him any less if he ate or didn't eat the meat. He could have proudly showed off his disdain for the false idols by eating the meat and showing it off to prove to others that he did not fear these false gods. But Paul's heart allows God to overrule his head. God has made it clear to Paul that just because something is alright to do does not make it the right thing to do. So Paul refrains from eating meat so that others might not get caught up in a debate that will lead them away from God rather than closer to God.
I've often wondered what it was that Jesus did in Paul's life to bring this level of humility to Paul. I'm guessing that the humility did not come quickly and that it wasn't an easy lesson. Many times I wish others would learn these lessons of humility but hope that I won't have to. But knowing God and the ways God works I'm guessing that each one of us will need to learn that just because we can doesn't mean that we should.
Some thoughts to ponder and share with others:
- When you think of Paul do you think of a humble man or a head strong man? Why?
- Why might the issue of eating meat offered to idols been a big issue for the people of Corinth?
- Has God even convinced you that just because you could do something it wasn't necessarily the right thing to do? What was it?
- How is God teaching you humility these days?
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