Daily Scripture: Romans 14:4 who are you to pass judgment on someone else’s servant? It is before his own master that he will stand or fall; and the fact is that he will stand, because the Lord is able to make him stand.
5 One person considers some days more holy than others, while someone else regards them as being all alike. What is important is for each to be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes a day as special does so to honor the Lord. Also he who eats anything, eats to honor the Lord, since he gives thanks to God; likewise the abstainer abstains to honor the Lord, and he too gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives only in relation to himself, and none of us dies only in relation to himself;
Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)
Romans 14:13 Therefore, let’s stop passing judgment on each other! Instead, make this one judgment — not to put a stumbling block or a snare in a brother’s way. 14 I know — that is, I have been persuaded by the Lord Yeshua the Messiah — that nothing is unclean in itself. But if a person considers something unclean, then for him it is unclean; 15 and if your brother is being upset by the food you eat, your life is no longer one of love. Do not, by your eating habits, destroy someone for whom the Messiah died! 16 Do not let what you know to be good, be spoken of as bad; 17 for the Kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, shalom and joy in the Ruach HaKodesh. (Complete Jewish Bible).
Reflection Questions: Now it gets hard. In Jumanji, Dr. Bravestone said, “We need each other, whether we like it or not.” Jewish and Gentile Christians in Rome saw many issues differently (e.g. observing holy days, eating “unclean” meat). Each side felt like shunning those who disagreed. Scholar Leslie Allen summed up Paul’s message to both sides: “It is nothing less than usurping Christ’s sovereign authority over a fellow-Christian to criticize him over a difference of opinion: for the less scrupulous to look down on the more scrupulous, or for the more scrupulous to judge the less scrupulous. Christian fellowship does not imply a right to run other people’s lives for them: only Christ can—and will—discharge such a right.” *
- We usually don’t argue heatedly about which kinds of meat it’s okay to eat, so it may seem easy to agree with verse 17: “God’s kingdom isn’t about eating food and drinking but about righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.” We DO, though, differ about politics, social issues like gender identity or immigration, what “the Bible is inspired” means, even church music! How can you apply verse 17’s principle in relating to other Christians with whom you disagree on some issues?
- In verse 13, Paul said part of Christian community is to “never put a stumbling block or obstacle in the way of your brother or sister.” That can be tough! Have you ever seen a Christian, sure they were right, avoid something in order not to put a stumbling block in the way of other Christians? What principles can guide you in deciding when preserving Christian connections is more valuable than winning your specific point?
* Leslie C. Allen comments on Romans 14:1-12 in New International Bible Commentary, F. F. Bruce, gen. ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1979, p. 1342.
Dr. Amy Oden is Professor of Early Church History and Spirituality at Saint Paul School of Theology at OCU. Teaching is her calling, and she looks forward to every day with students. Her latest book (Right Here, Right Now: The Practice of Christian Mindfulness, Abingdon Press, 2017) traces ancient mindfulness practice for Christians today.
Love each other. Might sound easy, at first. But it turns out this is really hard, and we Christians are prone to disregard it in our eagerness to be right or to be good.
Maybe we need more specific instructions: Love each other more than you love your beliefs. Love each other more than you love being good. Love each other more than you love being right.
Wise people remind us, again and again in different ways:
- "God’s kingdom isn’t about [being right in] eating food and drinking but about righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit." Romans 14:17
- "We need each other, whether we like it or not." Dr. Bravestone, Jumanji
- "If I have all faith, so as to move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing." 1 Corinthians 13:2
- Love wins.
Love each other. Turns out this is really hard. What’s your phrase or sentence that keeps the door of Love open for others?
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You might also like:
- No one “got all the good stuff”
- Dr. Bravestone: “We can help each other.”
- Prayer Tip: Game ON!
- “Be kind, compassionate, and forgiving”—like God
- Jesus' vision of true human greatness
- Or download this week's printable GPS.
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Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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