What Does Moderation Really Look Like?
I've always been a curvy girl. My mum will tell you that she put me on my first diet when I was three months old. Over the years I've tried all manner of different diets and eating plans.
What I find hilarious now though, as I share this story with you, is how God used that one constant theme, the one thing that had always been an issue, to show me a brand new picture of who He is and, as a result, launched me on a trajectory that, quite literally, saved me from myself
Because about a decade ago, through a series of “coincidences” (no, I don't believe there's any such thing either, I like to call them God-incidences) I landed upon yet another weight loss course.
This one was a little bit different because this time, it was bible based. (Bible based but still a diet. I wasn't ready at that point to do battle with diet culture. But that's another story for another time. Let's simply say at this point that God met me where I was at).
Through that bible weight loss course, I was introduced to a God who was interested in every aspect of my life including, for the purposes of weight loss, what I put into my mouth. Talk about a revelation!
Little by little God led me on a journey into His love, a love that met me exactly where I was, quirks and foibles and eccentricities and all. Like a daisy opening her petals under the glow of the warm sunshine, I started to open up and accept who I was, instead of trying to earn the love of the people around me by being who I thought I needed to be.
One of the basic premises of the bible weight loss course, the idea that God is interested in everything, meant that if I was tempted to eat three KitKats I would talk to God about it instead.
Suddenly, instead of being faced with food lists or banned foods, everything became possible. Everything was an option, so long as I was hungry.
In 1 Corinthians chapter 10, Paul writes, “I have the right to do anything you say, but not everything is beneficial. I have the right to do anything, but not everything is constructive. No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.”
Couple that verse with the teaching from the bible weight loss course and you've got a decent case for anything being permissible, in moderation, but we need to go deeper than that.
Why? Because if we keep reading the rest of chapter ten, Paul explores an example of when something is completely permissible to us, except that it's not because it's going to hurt somebody else. Let's keep reading …
“Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience. But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, both for the sake of the one who told you and for the sake of conscience. I am referring to the other person’s conscience, not yours. For why is my freedom being judged by another’s conscience? If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for?”
You might read this, decide it doesn’t apply to you and ignore it. After all, when was the last time you found food in your cupboard that has been offered to idols?
But let's explore this principle and see how it does apply to our lives, not just within the context of food, but actually within the context of how we do all of life.
A couple of chapters earlier in chapter eight, Paul writes:
“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. 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, is defiled. But food does not bring us nearer to God; we are no worse if we do not eat nor are no better if we do eat. Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak. 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? 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.”
Paul had no problem whatsoever eating food that had been offered to idols because there's no such thing as an idol, there's only God. However, he would not eat the food offered to idols if it would cause somebody else to struggle in their relationship with God and that is what's key in applying this to how we do life.
Let’s take Halloween as an example. Halloween traditionally is a night where evil spirits and the dark things of life are celebrated. Quite transparently, I don't like Halloween. I find it a bit creepy and when people bang on the door, the dogs go crazy! My personal preferences aside, if we look at Halloween within the context of what Paul is sharing, you will be quite free to say, “I worship Jesus, I don't worship anybody other than Jesus, so Halloween is not a problem for me.”
However, if joining in with Halloween in your neighborhood raises question marks about who you are and your faith, if it causes somebody else to struggle to know Jesus, then it becomes a problem for you to participate in Halloween.
As the resident Brit in the room, I can almost feel the wrath of my American friends as I say that. I know many of you love Halloween and have great fun with it. Hear my heart in this … I am simply using Halloween as an example because it's a time of the year where dark things are celebrated and so it’s an easy case to apply Paul’s logic to.
Let’s explore another example …
There might be a film in the cinema that has content that is dark. It might not cause any problems to you because you know that Jesus is light and that light shines into the darkness. However, if you watch that film, or take someone to watch that film with you and it causes them to struggle in their relationship with God, then it becomes a problem for you to watch that film.
Do you see how we can take Paul's example and apply it to a wider context?
You are free to show up with thanks and do life with God. There is nothing that needs to stop you from doing that. Paul is simply reminding us that our freedom is not meant to cause somebody else to stumble and fall.
Just because you have freedom in your relationship with God, just because you know that you are a child of God, that you are a son or daughter of the King of kings and, as such, that there is nobody who can come against you, doesn't mean that you have the freedom to move about in your life in a way that's going to cause other people to struggle in their relationship with God.
Ultimately, all of this is about being guided by the Holy Spirit. God knows you. God knows your heart. He also knows and loves the people that you do life with and so, as we step into situations, we can be guided by the Holy Spirit. We can listen to the nudges and operate in a way that is allowing us to move in our freedom, but also in a way that loves and honours the people around us.
And now it’s over to you … are there any areas of freedom in your life that God is inviting you to look at? What pieces are you being invited to let go of for the sake of someone else’s relationship with Jesus?