8 Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that “We all possess knowledge.” But knowledge puffs up while love builds up. 2 Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know. 3 But whoever loves God is known by God.[k]
4 So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that “An idol is nothing at all in the world” and that “There is no God but one.” 5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”), 6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.
7 But not everyone possesses this knowledge. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat sacrificial food they think of it as having been sacrificed to a god, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled. 8 But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.
9 Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol’s temple, won’t that person be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols? 11 So this weak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. 12 When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.- 1 Corinthians 8
I included the entirety of this section of scripture, but I would really like to focus on verses nine through thirteen. The church at Corinth was divided. Some were devout in their worship to Jesus. Others were more concerned with which leader was the best to follow. While still others were participating in pagan practices. One of those practices was eating food given to idols. The Greeks with all their “wisdom” had some very weird views. One of those was to offer food to their Gods to eat.
The meat offered on pagan altars was usually divided into three portions. One portion was burnt in honor of the god, one portion was given to the worshiper to take home and eat, and the third portion was given to the priest. If the priest didn’t want to eat his portion, he sold it at the temple restaurant or meat market. The meat served and sold at the temple was generally cheaper. Then, as well as now, people loved a bargain (including Christians). Mature Christians began eating this food because well it was cheaper and as Paul says in verse 4 “We know that “An idol is nothing at all in the world” and that “There is no God but one.” In other words, eating the cheap food is okay because the idol it was sacrificed to isn’t real. This was fine to do, but the problem for the church of Corinth is that young believers would see the mature believers eating the food. The younger Christians interpreted this as not being fully devoted to God. This is why Paul uses the word “stumble.” These younger faith followers would stumble in their faith because they believed their brothers and sisters were worshiping other gods.
I love this passage. I love this passage because this passage emphasizes the “we” in Christianity. Paul’s admonishment to the church at Corinth was not about eating food to idols. It was about the negative result of someone seeing another Christian eating the food. What a message for us today!! Our actions are not always judged based on how the effect us individually. As a Christian, the community matters. Your actions determine which way the community goes. Your lifestyle decisions shouldn’t be made with just you or your family in mind. As a Christian we have responsibilities to live a lifestyle that points people to God, not away. This is why it is extra important to watch what you say around young Christians (especially on the internet). This is why it is important to maintain a good reputation in the community. God doesn’t care what your reputation community is, but he does care if that reputation makes another Christian question their faith. In a world that is “me” centered. I am thankful we have a community in Christ that is “us” centered.