November 9: Thoughts on Romans 14:20

"Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food."
~Romans 14:20a

Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food.

Paul's ministry, as laid out in the New Testament, was an interesting mix. As he tells us in Romans 1:16, his ministry of the Gospel was "to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile." Because Paul was a converted Jew, he had a passion for taking the Gospel to the Jews, but he knew also that Christ's death made a way for the Gentiles to be saved as well. So his ministry was made up of both Jews and Gentiles.

Judaism has many, many laws about food. Pork, shellfish, catfish and the like are all considered unclean to them, even today. Meat slaughtered improperly (i.e. not through a kosher process) and meat sacrificed to idols are both forbidden to Jews. Obviously, the majority of Rome was not Jewish. A basic history lesson tells us that pork was the primary staple of the Roman diet. Also, because much of Rome served false gods and idols, there was probably a good deal of meat in the market that had been sacrificed to idols.

What Paul had was a cultural conflict. The Jews were disgusted by the diet of the Gentile Romans, the Romans were frustrated by the restrictiveness of the Jews, and there was a serious rift forming in the church. That's what Paul is addressing here. He's saying, "Hello? Y'all are tearing apart the church over food? What's wrong with you? Isn't the work of God a lot more important than food?"

But we're doing this too these days. What have we made more important than God? Have we kept people out of church because of how they look? Because of the clothes they wear or the music they listen to? Have we broken fellowship with other groups because of small doctrinal differences between us?

Christianity is a diverse place. Some believe it is wrong for a woman to cut her hair. Others cut their hair on a monthly basis. Some have a problem with birth control. Others believe it is a wise stewardship of their family's resources. Some believe it is a sin for a woman to work outside the home. Others believe that God has called them to a career outside the home. Some believe public schooling is the Christian choice because their children can "be a light," some believe Christian private schooling is more appropriate, and some choose some believe God wants them to homeschool their children. Some vote Republican, some vote Democratic, and some don't vote at all.

The point is that these differences, while sometimes large, are ultimately unimportant. What's really important here is the message of the Cross. When you picture Jesus upon the Cross and think about everything He did for you there, the rest of it sort of fades away, doesn't it? Cultural differences pale in comparison with the significance of the Gospel.

So the next time you see that new girl in church whose shirt is maybe a touch too short, or that guy with all those tattoos, try to overlook all that and see what God sees: somebody He loves and wants to save. The same goes for the guy getting very drunk at the bar of your favorite restaurant, or the girl who blasts obscene music in her car as she drives down the street.

God is not a respecter of persons (Romans 2:11), meaning that He doesn't like or love one person more than another. He doesn't care who you are, He still loves you. He's also not willing that anybody should perish (2 Peter 3:9), and that includes people who are culturally different from us, or people whose sins are different from ours. We shouldn't condemn people for their sins, because we were sinners once too. Instead, we should share with them, gently and with love, that there is forgiveness for their sins.

Jesus prayed for unity among believers (John 17:20-23). Paul declared in his letter to the Galatians that "there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28). God wants us to set aside our minor differences and keep the main thing the main thing. In this case, the main thing is Jesus, and anything else just distorts the message.