It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.
—Romans 14:21
Any time we’re considering something the Bible does not expressly forbid, we should stop and ask ourselves some honest questions. Does this action honor God? Is it helpful to my Christian walk? And, the one Paul presses here, will it negatively impact other believers who might follow my example? Whether or not we go ahead should depend on the answers.
Let’s focus on that last question, because it’s the one we most easily ignore. Paul says, “it is good not to… do anything that causes your brother to stumble.” And notice that word anything. It’s broad on purpose. It covers what we eat and drink, how we dress, the music we listen to, the movies we watch, what we post online, all the things that aren’t sinful in themselves but fall into that gray zone of questionable matters.
Remember the principle: not everyone in the body of Christ is at the same point of maturity. Some believers are young or still relatively new in the faith, and they’re more easily influenced by what they see in others. The Bible doesn’t tell us to disregard those weaker believers as if they should just toughen up. It tells us to make our decisions with them in mind, because we are called to be examples.
Let me give a concrete picture. Imagine a respected church leader using alcohol in public, say, with a meal at a restaurant. Maybe for that leader it’s a matter of liberty and no sin is involved. But a middle-school student from the church happens to see it and files it away: “That’s what I’ll do when I’m old enough.” The leader could handle it; the young one watching may not.
These are tough questions, and I don’t raise them to bind anyone in legalism. I raise them because I believe we ought to hold ourselves to the highest standards of Christian conduct. We are called to be above reproach, setting an example for believers and unbelievers alike. So the question becomes very practical: Are you sending the right messages through your actions?
This is, once again, where love rises higher than liberty. “All things are lawful for me,” Paul wrote, “but not all things are helpful.” The mature believer doesn’t ask only, “Am I free to do this?” but “Is this loving toward the people watching me?” And I can tell you, there’s not one thing I’ve ever given up for Christ’s sake that I have regretted.
So let me urge you to live with an acute awareness of those around you who may be at a different point of maturity in their walk with Christ. Your freedom is real, but your influence is real too. Remember: your actions will shape how others choose to act. Choose in love.
LITTLE EYES ARE ALWAYS WATCHING. YOUR ACTIONS WILL INFLUENCE HOW OTHERS CHOOSE TO ACT. CHOOSE IN LOVE.
