We’re living in days where everyone is exercising their rights. It’s become the foundational truth of our time – “its my right to _______.”

Lots of the move to this worldview has been very good, very helpful and in many cases biblical. I have enjoyed watching how it has given a voice to those who have been oppressed and ignored, whether that is around the injustices of racism, sexual harassment, oppression of the poor etc.

Of course, like any societal shift it also has brought some negative things and amongst Jesus followers I have see some trends that we must be aware of.

We know that following Jesus requires us to die to ourselves and pick up our cross. In that process we lay down our rights and say ‘not my way but yours’. This of course doesn’t mean we turn into timid creatures who never speak up or mention anything, but it does mean that we are called to love as Jesus loved. So whenever we are wronged or disagree with something, how we respond must reflect Him and His character. And because we are called to love those around us as we love ourselves we must also think of the impact it has on them also.

In 1 Corinthians 8 Paul is talking to the believers about eating food that has been sacrificed to idols. This was a practise that was common in the Roman world and the meat would often be sold in marketplaces. The Jewish followers would abstain from eating the meat because it was ‘unclean’ but the newer gentile converts didn’t have a problem with it. As you can imagine this caused some strain.

Before the passage below Paul is ultimately telling them that these idols are nothing, they are not gods and therefore have no significance to those who have the knowledge of the true God. Therefore it doesn’t really matter whether you eat meat sacrificed to them or not – as long as you have the knowledge that these idols are not gods then the meat won’t be a hindrance to you. However, Paul is equally making it clear that we don’t act simply out of knowledge but out of love and that they must think of others who do not possess this knowledge about idols. Here is the passage from verse 9 in Chapter 8.

9 Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol’s temple, won’t that person be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols? 11 So this weak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. 12 When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall. 1 Corinthians 8:9-13

Basically Paul is saying that even though it is his right to eat meat regardless of where it has come from, he will never eat that meat if it causes someone else to struggle. If a brother or sister watches him eat the meat and wrongly concludes that it is ok to worship idols then Paul would rather deny himself that meat, even if he knows it is fine, in order to love that man or woman.

There’s a word for today. Far too often when we are challenged as Christians about our behaviour around a certain activity, be that their language, alcohol (common Northern Ireland topics) in the light of this passage of 1 Corinthians, we often hear a response which focuses more on the responsibility of the one who is affected by that behaviour than our own. “its not my responsibility, they have to learn it is fine” would be a typical style of response.

However, this passage from Paul would suggest the opposite – it is our responsibility. In these days of exercising our rights and living them out let’s ensure that our rights don’t create wrongs in others.