From Forward Day by Day
1 Corinthians 10:31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.
Paul writes to the church in Corinth trying to help them balance the freedom they have in Christ with the need to be subject to others. Just because we are freed from the Law, Paul says, does not mean anything goes. We should eat and drink and live in a way that does not cause scandal to others.
Some years ago, I was in Zanzibar during Ramadan, a time of fasting for Muslims. I learned that many Christians there also fast during this time, not because they have to, but because they don’t wish to eat in front of those who cannot join them. Christians go hungry out of respect for their neighbors’ practices. I wonder what our world would be like if we ate and drank or fasted to the glory of God, respecting our neighbors always. Perhaps God is glorified by our doing and by our not doing at times, though in all things we are free in Christ. This freedom must always be balanced by our love of those around us.
