¹⁶ Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil; ¹⁷ for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Strong-in-the-faith Christianity is the focus of this passage’s attention. Ironically, the Pharisee-Christian’s desire to restrict other people’s freedoms is assumed to be the more spiritual position in rejecting fleshly living or worldliness. Yet Paul refuses to make that assumption. In fact, he turns that thinking on its ear! Rather, he assumes in this line of thinking that having freedom to eat food offered to idols is a good thing. Of course, he refers to the person who can do this without the slightest temptation to engage in idolatry. If Paul were focusing on the PC (Pharisee-Christian), he could have easily challenged him to back off with the judgment—and that would certainly be a legitimate application of this section of his letter. In fact, the apostle at other times was very pointed in his accusation of PC attitudes in confronting the venerable apostle Peter and even his mentor Barnabas (see Acts 15, Galatians 2).

However, here our inspired letter writer speaks to those whose faith is strong and who understand that idols really do not exist, and therefore food offered to them carries no spiritual taint. Just because you have the freedom, Paul writes, doesn’t mean you should go ahead and exercise your freedom with abandon. Yes, people shouldn’t judge you for it, shouldn’t be hypocritical in their selectively condemning what you do, while excusing their allowances for themselves. And it may also be true that some may try to control you through spiritual rationales and denunciations. But that doesn’t mean you should shoot yourself in the foot and make the situation worse.

The fact is, there is more to Christian fellowship than these gray area issues. The Gospel of Jesus Christ in bringing salvation to individuals is also intended to bring communities of believers together in fellowship that is characterized by “righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” There are times when those whose faith allows them more latitude should dial back their freedoms, not only for the so-called weaker brother but also to avoid the conflict that will come from those PC individuals. That is not to say we should always bow to the control of others, but Paul’s point is that the issues are much larger than your freedom to eat certain foods or engage in certain activities. Don’t get bogged down in the do’s and don’ts and miss the point of fellowship, and don’t let anyone else anchor you into this misguided argument.

Lord, show me where I am using my freedom in Christ to aggravate others.