Now concerning food sacrificed to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. 2Anyone who claims to know something does not yet have the necessary knowledge; 3but anyone who loves God is known by him.
4Hence, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “no idol in the world really exists,” and that “there is no God but one.” 5Indeed, even though there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as in fact there are many gods and many lords— 6yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.
7It is not everyone, however, who has this knowledge. Since some have become so accustomed to idols until now, they still think of the food they eat as food offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. 8“Food will not bring us close to God.” We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. 9But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. 10For if others see you, who possess knowledge, eating in the temple of an idol, might they not, since their conscience is weak, be encouraged to the point of eating food sacrificed to idols? 11So by your knowledge those weak believers for whom Christ died are destroyed. 12But when you thus sin against members of your family, and wound their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. 13Therefore, if food is a cause of their falling, I will never eat meat, so that I may not cause one of them to fall.
Adiaphora. It is a word that is beloved by Lutherans, especially those who have gone through seminary. It means “Those things not essential to salvation.” It is a wonderful word for Lutherans, who believe that we are saved through grace by faith. It is not our works, those things that we do and say, that gain us salvation. Nor is it ritual that gives us everlasting life. It is only God, God who loves us so much that he took upon Himself flesh and gave his life in order that we may live. So in essence, everything that is not God is adiaphora, since only God is essential for our salvation.
This can lead us down a very slippery slope though. When we say that it is not essential, we can begin to view it as the same thing as “unimportant.” It reminds me of a story I heard from a mother whose child was confused about us Lutherans. Her child had been in the locker room at school and one of his friends was sitting there cursing at everything, and his friend’s wrath was especially focused on their teacher, and he called the teacher quite a few improper terms. This mother’s child asked his friend “I thought you were a Christian. Why is it that you are being so negative and saying such nasty things?” And his friend replied “I’m Lutheran. I’m saved no matter what I do, so I just do whatever I want.” A little bit of knowledge can be a very dangerous thing. At the Professional Leaders conference a few weeks ago, there was an illustration of knowledge as knowing what we don’t know. The image was of the Thinker, and above his head was a little bubble representing the knowledge of the thinker. The barrier between the bubble and the rest of what was all out in the world was small, showing that he didn’t really have a large area of knowing what he didn’t know. And it is that kind of understanding that causes us to puff up, in Paul’s words. When we believe we know basically all that there is to know, we can begin to think too highly of ourselves.
Of course, having more knowledge can lead to the same problem as well, since while those who know more may know that there is more they don’t know, they also know that they know more than those other people who don’t know as much, who don’t study as much. And there are few things worse than going into a class, whether it be in secular school or a Bible study, where there is that one person who knows the answer to every question the teacher asks, because then the others in the room can begin to feel really stupid. I know I have had that experience many times, walking out of class just going “Why didn’t I know that? How did she know that and I didn’t? Wow, I am just so inadequate.” Not only does knowledge puff us up, it can also lead to the breakdown of others, and cause people to shut down.
Now does this mean that we should avoid all knowledge, shut our God-given brains off, and just get through life with as few thoughts as possible? Of course not. We are still called to question and to seek out answers in our faith, in order that we may grow closer to understanding God and how to serve Him. But it does mean that we need to temper our actions with love, in order that the knowledge that we have does not become a stumbling block for others.
That is the problem with the people in Corinth that Paul is writing too. They know something. They know that all the idols that the Roman society prays too are just idols, stone and metal and wood, nothing to them but base material. There are no other gods out there, only the on true God. And they also know that meat is yummy. Now, at that time, almost all of the meat in the area was first sacrificed to one of the Roman gods at a temple, and then the butchers would come and gather the meat to sell in their shops. Because of this, there were many Jewish Christians, and Jews in general, who were vegetarians. Eating meat could be construed as worshipping an idol, since it had been offered to one and be part of its worship services, so in order to avoid such impropriety, they simply didn’t eat meat. Now the church in Corinth knew that there were no other gods, and they knew that the meat was delicious, so they ate it and didn’t think about it. This became a stumbling block for new followers of Christ, because in their minds the church congregation was saying that it was fine to worship other idols alongside Christ, since they were eating the meat from the animals sacrificed to the Roman gods. Therefore the new followers were following into polytheism instead of worship solely of God. Which is why Paul tells the congregation, “Listen, you are destroying the faith of those who are hearing about Jesus. Yes, I know what you are doing is not hurting your salvation, but guess what, they don’t get it! So stop it, don’t eat the meat, because you are sending the wrong message.”
One could easily see this as something set in the past. After all, our meat comes from animals we hunt ourselves, or animals that we hunt at the grocery store, looking for that perfect piece of meat for the lowest possible cost. What does it have to do with us? Well, what did it have to do with the youth in the locker room? What we do matters. We may know that something is adiaphora, we may know that God loves us and is with us no matter what, but what we do with our lives and how we treat one another and all people throughout the community and throughout the world matters, because we are the image of God for people who have never experienced God in their lives, who have never known the amazing love of God. We are not only God’s hands in this world, but we are God’s voice and God’s face. What we do matters. When we act in a divisive way, when we ignore the plights of others, and when we turn our back on our promises, we show God to be fickle, and uncaring, and untrustworthy. I remember growing up, I was told by people not to make the sign of the cross during worship because that is just too Catholic. Even though the symbol to make it was even in our hymnal, it was just too Catholic. Well, making the sign of the cross is adiaphora, it’s not essential to our salvation, but it can be a great comfort for people and a sign of their faith and a remembrance of God’s sacrifice for His children, so why would we tell people not to do it just because another denomination also does it? Why would we show God to be that divisive among His children?
Or how many of us have experienced walking into church, going to sit down and discovering, horror of all horrors, somebody is visiting and sitting in my pew, as if they should have magically known that that was my pew and they shouldn’t be there? And what is the most common reaction? Ignoring the person, and becoming miserable for the worship service. Where we sit doesn’t matter for our salvation, but it can matter to us greatly. Yet what is our calling? To show love. So maybe we should rejoice and be glad that somebody has joined us, somebody has seen or heard God in their lives and wants to know more, wants to experience the gathering of God’s children. So we ought to show love, introduce ourselves and be of aid to our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, instead of being filled with spite.
What is the answer to knowledge, according to Paul? What is it that makes us who we are as Christians if it is not knowledge? It is Love, that which builds up. St. Augustine once wrote, “Love, and do as thou will.” Love and do as you will. When we act out of love, instead out of egotistical knowledge, we truly do the work of God. When our lives are rooted in love for all people, our actions will live that out and people may see the love of God through us. But when we act as a stumbling block out of self-importance or out of a desire to be comfortable, we become the hands and voice of someone else completely. What does love look like? To return to Augustine – “What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like.”
If I maybe so bold, I would like to add to St. Augustine. Love has the eyes that look at others and see ourselves. It has the mouth that speaks justice and mercy. It has hands that reach out and lift up. It has the shoulder that is wet with tears and a mind that remembers the forgotten. That is what love looks like.
Our God truly is an awesome God. He reigns with love and compassion. He gives us minds that are active and thirst for knowledge, but also gives us the ability to look past what we know to see how we are to serve and exemplify the life and love of God. Love and do as you will, for when you act with love you do the work of God.
Amen.
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