A Daily Purpose

Bible Study & Devotional 225

Read Today’s Assigned Passages

 Guiding Scripture: 1 Corinthians 8:1 ‘Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that “We all possess knowledge.” But knowledge puffs up while love builds up.’ 

You Do You?!

Written by Torrie Slaughter

What’s for dinner? When are we eating? Who is cooking?

Sound familiar?

We want to know what we’re eating when it will be ready, and who prepared it. But for our ancestors, it went a little deeper. It was a question of morality and whether the food would defile their bodies or separate them from God.

In the United States, we cannot imagine the horrors of famine because so many resources are available. I’m not saying that hunger isn’t a problem, but we do have accessible solutions.

We’ve read about the temptation of food from the very beginning. It is not something we should ignore. Adam and Eve were forbidden to eat of the tree of knowledge and evil. Esau sold his birthright for some stew (Genesis 25:24-34), and finally, Jesus shows us how to overcome the temptation of Satan when he wants to fill us with ‘his’ bread in Luke 4:1-4. God is the solution.

As we read in 1 Corinthians 4:1, the discussion continues. The Apostle Paul wanted the church at Corinth to understand the difference between spiritual hunger and physical desire. Just as Jesus provided the greatest example of humility and love, the Apostle Paul taught the same theology.

We need to be mindful of what enters our bodies and who is watching us do it.

How do we apply the truth about food to our lives?

• First, we need to understand that over-indulgence and over-consumption of food, drink, or wealth is an issue, especially if it is withheld from those less fortunate.
  It begs us to ask ourselves if we can share.
• Second, 1 Corinthians 8 addresses how we care for our neighbors if they are weak in faith. It does not matter how knowledgeable we believe we are if cannot show love.
• And third, if we seek to build up one another through encouragement, we create ways to strengthen their confidence.

Again we in the United States may not encounter situations with food offered to idols, but it shouldn’t make us less aware of where our food comes from and who will be impacted by what we eat, drink or watch. It’s not as simple as saying ‘You do you.’ There are consequences. We can positively or negatively impact our neighbors simply by putting the fork down, changing the topic of conversation, or even turning the media off. 

The choice is yours because we are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers.

Prayer: ‘Let all the earth fear the Lord ; let all the people of the world revere him. For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.’ Psalms 33:8-9 

The Bible In A Year Daily Reading Plan

Saturday, August 13, 2022

Nehemiah 5:14-7:73, 1 Corinthians 8:1-13, Psalm 33:1-11, Proverbs 21:8-10

Download or Print the One Year Bible Reading Plan