This morning we took our boys out for an all-you-can-eat buffet breakfast before a full morning of basketball games. It was a rushed affair, and my husband and I were caught up with getting food for our youngest son, taking kids to the bathroom, organizing drinks and trying to eat before hurrying off to the first game.
We were so busy that we didn’t realize there was an ultimate eating contest going on, right under our noses! Apparently our six year old and eight year old boys were trying to see how much they could devour.
I was vaguely aware, in a distracted sort of daze, of the eggs and pancakes and cheese and cherry pie filling. But I really didn’t notice the bacon. Our six year old was not going to be outdone by his brother, and he managed to swallow eleven slices of it. ELEVEN!
About an hour later, he was in the men’s bathroom at the gym, experiencing what is known in the competitive eating world as a “reversal of fortune”. Today he learned a valuable lesson: just because I can eat eleven slices of bacon, that doesn’t mean that I should.
It is the same way for us on matters of Christian liberty. There are things which, Scripturally speaking, we can all do. But just because we can, doesn’t mean we should.
There are many issues of Christian liberty, some hotly debated. When I was a missionary an issue arose on our international missions team which illustrates this principle.
The American women were accustomed to wearing makeup, while the Hungarian women told us that no godly Christian would ever paint her face. Passions were hot, with Americans demanding their rights (in true American style!) and Hungarians questioning the sanctification–and possibly salvation–of the Western missionaries.
Here are some guiding principles in Christian liberty, and how they looked in the above example:
*Make sure this is actually a matter of liberty, and not something that is breaking God’s law.
The Bible does speak about issues like inner beauty and vanity, but it does not strictly prohibit the wearing of makeup. This, I believe, is an issue of Christian liberty.
*Do not do anything which your conscience says is sin. “Each man should be fully convinced in his own mind,” Romans 14: 5
It was not sin for the American women to wear makeup, but it would have been sin for the Hungarians to do so.
*Christians are not to judge one another on matters of Christian liberty.
“One man’s faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. Romans 14: 2-4
Those who are strong (those whose conscience allowed them to wear makeup) were not to look down on those who were weak (who felt that something external had the power to affect salvation). Likewise, those who were weak (the non-makeup wearers) were not to judge those who did wear makeup. We are not to impose our own conscience on others in matters of Christian liberty.
*Do what preserves unity in the body.
*“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. ” Romans 14: 19
The burden seems to be on the stronger brother here to do what leads to peace. The Americans needed to prioritize unity over their rights.
*Do not flaunt your liberty before those who are weak. It is better to give up your liberties for the sake of the Gospel than to cause another to stumble.
“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.” Romans 14: 20
The wearing of makeup is a preference. If I had chosen not to wear it, that would not have caused me to sin. In this case, I believe we Americans should have laid aside our right to wear makeup for the sake of the Gospel, and to help keep their sisters from falling.
“He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.” Romans 14: 6-8
great post, thanks so much!
Funny, just tonight my 8yo dd was asking me the same kinds of questions about my belly dancing workout dvd. I had much the same advice–not all things that are permissible (in our freedom) are wise to exercise at all times.
I just came across you blog (which I have enjoyed, BTW!) and loved this post as it has been a great topic of discussion in our Sunday School over the last few weeks as we managed to crawl through Romans!