You don’t have to eat it (Romans 14)—Memory Monday)

Are you memorizing scripture this week, too?
Then please join us at Joanne’s for Memory Monday.

Learned last week:
    For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. 
    For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's.
Romans 14:7-8

The apostle Paul wrote these words in the midst of a conversation about not judging others. While we’re all bound under the Truth of scripture, we’re not all bound to each other’s opinions of interpretation.

If I know you’re a vegetarian, I won’t insist you eat my spaghetti and meatballs for supper. Your choice of food is between you and God.

You don’t live to please me, but to please Him.

But I get to apply it to myself, too: I’m not supposed to sacrifice my own beliefs because of yours. If it’s wrong to me to watch an “R”-rated movie, for example, I shouldn’t try to please you by joining you at the theater to watch one, just because it’s not wrong to you.

Here’s how it’s summarized a few verses later in The Message:

    So tend to your knitting. You've got your hands full just taking care of your own life before God. 
    Forget about deciding what's right for each other. Here's what you need to be concerned about: that you don't get in the way of someone else, making life more difficult than it already is.
Romans 14:12-13 (The Message)

And here:

    Your task is to single-mindedly serve Christ. Do that and you'll kill two birds with one stone: pleasing the God above you and proving your worth to the people around you. 
    So let's agree to use all our energy in getting along with each other. Help others with encouraging words.
Romans 14:18-19 (The Message)

Once again, the lesson is the same: it’s all about Him, not me, not you.
That’s best for everybody. 

* * *

Learning this week:
    We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 
    Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.
Romans 15:1-2