Thursday 16 Feb 2017

February 16: 1 Corinthians 8:7-13

Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 8:9
But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak.

Devotion:
We are told by certain groups of people how we are all equal and we should always be treated as equal. Sadly, the fact is we are not all equal and we do need to treat people differently. I am not trying to drive a wedge between groups of people or between sexes or even races; what I am talking about is our minds. There is no way we can all know the same things. We may go to the same school as our friends, but our environment outside of school is different so we pick up different things. Our minds thrive on what we see, hear and smell.

We make up our minds based on things we hear and see of our friends and others around us too. We don't just go by what we read, but by the actions of others and how they react to circumstances. Let us say that you and your friend thought a certain food was poisonous but you alone knew that when treated properly it was good to eat; what would happen if your friend saw you eating that food? Could they change their minds and think it was good to eat? You have given them doubt over the original premise. The only way out would be for them to know how to treat the food before they tasted it!

Unfortunately our knowledge can be a danger to others who do not have the same knowledge! The one thing we really have to look out for is that we do not show complacency about our knowledge in front of others. When we do that, we may well be throwing doubt on their very beliefs. If someone saw your reading a book from another religion they may well think you are siding with that religion and try to find out about it before finding out about God's truth. They may well be swayed by that religion and never get to hear the truth!

People may well have the same rights as anyone else, but our minds are so different that we have to treat each other differently. The only way we can do this effectively is by finding out about them and caring for them. Just maybe they will see how much we do care and how much God can care for them too.

Points to Ponder:
We can bring everything before God because He knows everything...

We still need to take care in front of others!