Knowledge Puffs Us Up, Love Builds Us Up

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.  Amen.

Now concerning food sacrificed to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.”  Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.  (1 cor 8:1)

Our reading from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians today is packed with wisdom.  It’s a little hard to understand though.  It is all buried in an argument about eating food sacrificed to idols.  A practice that is not that common around here anymore.

So let’s try to unpack it a bit.  In Paul’s time (and in ours) it was against Jewish law to eat food sacrificed to idols or to gods other than Yahweh.  The temptation was that this food was free.  If you went to a worship service for one of these false gods, this food was shared as part of the ceremony.  So if you believed that these gods had any power, you were worshiping them.

Earlier this year we already talked about how some members of the church in Corinth were interpreting the law.  “All things are lawful for me.”  Here they are saying, “We know that no idol in the world really exists.  There is no God but one.  So this food sacrificed to false gods can have no power over us.  It is safe for us to eat it.  It can neither help us nor hurt us.”

Once again Paul says “you are right … but ….”

Knowledge puffs up, love builds up.

You are the leaders of your church.  What happens if another member of your church, one who does not understand that the food has no power, follows your example and eats?  In their hearts, they will believe that they have sinned against God.  They will be pulled away from loving God.  And they have done this by following your example.  “But when you thus sin against members of your family, and wound their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ.

Can any of you think of a modern example of this?

For me a Nicorette commercial comes to mind.  In fact, many Nicorette commercials come to mind.  There are three guys sitting together.  Both the one on the left and the one on the right pull out cigarettes.  The one in the middle first looks very worried and then he smiled and pulls out his pack of Nicorettes.

Smoking is not illegal, but if those are his friends, they are friends he could do without.

Knowledge puffs us up, love builds us up.

Paul is telling us that any time we knowingly cause someone else to be weak; we sin against them and against Christ.  Any time we cause someone else to do something that is wrong for them, even if it is okay or right for us, we sin against them and against Christ.

But there is a good side to his message too.

Radical love!

“Therefor, if food is a cause of their falling, I will never eat meat, so that I may not cause them to fall.”

Paul would rather eat the gruel of those in poverty than tempt one follower of Christ away from their love of God.

Love builds up!

Instead of having a cigarette next to their friend who is trying to quit, how about sharing a Nicorette?

When someone we know is trying to do something hard for them, Paul is telling us to lovingly build them up.  Give support and helpful advice; even criticism if it is constructive and caring.  When we use our own knowledge to point out someone else’s faults, no matter how real those faults might be, we sin against them and against Christ.

There is a lot of love here in this community.  Let’s remember to share that love with each other and build each other up.

I love you.  Thanks be to God.