Not Causing Anyone's Downfall

Readings:
Job 12
I Corinthians 8:4-13

Focus:
I Corinthians 8:2: "Therefore, if food is the downfall of a brother or sister, I will never eat meat again, for I will not be the cause of a brother or sister's downfall."

Paul is talking here about how people in his day were aware that meat that they bought in the market had first been sacrificed to idols. Many Christians didn't care about that, but for others, it bothered their consciences. So Paul said that for those who weren't troubled by it, rather than to say to themselves, "That's their problem," about the others, they should actually go out of their way not to set what would amount to a bad example by eating meat in front of those people.

In other words, Paul's advice is to live by the scruples of the people with the more tender consciences. This is in order to avoid causing the people with the more tender consciences to imitate the people with the more robust consciences and thus do what for the weaker-conscience people would be sin.

This is how far we are to go in living with love. We are to limit ourselves so that others may live.