Useful Bible Studies > 1 Corinthians Commentary > chapter 8
People today care very much about their rights. It seems that many of the first Christians had the same attitude.
Christ had made them free, they said. They had a right to eat whatever they wished. They could even eat food after someone had offered it to a false god. It was wrong to give honour to a false god; but they were not giving any honour to that god. They were only eating the food, and they had the right to do that.
The problem is that one person’s rights can cause serious trouble for another person. A Christian should not behave in such a manner. Christians must show love to other people. They should not insist on their rights if other people will suffer as a result.
That was happening among the Christians in Corinth. Some Christians were eating meat that other people had offered to false gods. Those Christians were not giving honour to false gods, so it was not wrong for them to eat that meat. However, other Christians saw what they did. Those other Christians had formerly served false gods, and they were weak in their relationship with God.
If those weaker Christians ate that meat, they would find it hard not to give honour to the false gods. They had not eaten such meals since they served the false gods. It was clear that they must not do it again.
So Christians cannot always do the things that they have a right to do. It is more important that they should show love, both towards God and towards other people.
Next part: How to deal with someone whom you do not like (1 Corinthians 8:11)
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© 2014, Keith Simons.