Do We Consider Others Weakness?

I think when we consider acting in love towards others we think about what act of kindness we could demonstrate towards them or for them, but should we, or could we, be looking at only certain obvious aspects of what it means to love others? What about things we “DON”T SEE” in others that call us to extend or demonstrate God’s love to people who may appear undeserving? What if they appear to have a weakness of faith, should we love them in spite of that weakness?

There are aspects of our Christian values and lifestyle that we feel at liberty to engage in, but that might cause harm to those we consider to be weaker Christians. Are there times we should be sensitive to the weakness of others and abstain from some activities in order to act in love towards them? Let me explain from my personal history how I chose to abstain from an activity that might hurt or hinder weaker believers.

I remember when I was leading a discipleship community in California in the 80s and was invited to a wedding with some of the guys from our discipleship community. This was a very classy wedding and the parents were serving very high end champagne to celebrate the wedding. My background before coming to Christ involved a lot of drinking and I loved champagne most of all. I had not engaged in drinking since my conversion so I considered my previous weakness to be overcome and no longer a problem for me personally.

As a Christian I do not believe it is a sin to have an alcoholic drink like wine or beer, unless it’s for the purpose of getting drunk. In that case it would be sinful. At times we will be in the presence of people who have struggled with alcohol and were alcoholics. We should be sensitive to this weakness, even though it is not our weakness. We should be motivated to walk in love and refrain from such activities, at least when around them. In my mind this is how Jesus would treat people.

The wedding reception went on for a few hours. At the end, one of the disciples came up to me and, with a pained look on his face, he asked me if I knew how many tall glasses (12 oz) of champagne I’d had. I said I did not know, and this person said he had followed me around and saw that I had 12 glasses! This young brother had struggled with alcohol prior to getting saved and so he was grieved by my behavior, especially since I was his teacher and mentor.

So you understand once again, before getting saved I drank a lot. I had a high tolerance for alcohol so it took a lot for me to get a buzz or get drunk. But this young disciple had a drinking problem and I wasn’t thinking about how my behavior or example might cause him to stumble. I was just enjoying the event and, to be clear, I was not drunk from the champagne.  I decided from that time on I would not drink alcohol again, even though for me it might not be a personal sin. I chose to put aside my freedom in Christ for the sake of a weaker brother and those who might be weakened by my freedom.

Looking at what the apostle Paul says about things we do or don’t do for love’s sake should compel us to think about being an example of Christ’s love, whether to believers or unbelievers. Paul uses eating meat as his example, but the principle is the same. The principle is thinking and considering how our conduct affects others. Not just considering our liberty in Christ, but also about the impact our choices have on others.

Romans 14:15

And if another Christian is distressed by what you eat, you are not acting in love if you eat it. Don’t let your eating ruin someone for whom Christ died.

From that wedding until today I gave up drinking all together because I didn’t want to be the cause of another person stumbling in their walk with Christ. That has been 51 years now and I don’t regret the decision. Sometimes our small actions can have a big impact if we look at life from Christ’s perspective.

Acting in love is not just about what we do but it’s also what we “DON”T DO” when acting toward other believers, and might I say toward unbelievers as well. I often see Christians acting out of their liberty and not acting out of love. They don’t seem to mind discouraging others by their lifestyle or choices purely because they feel it is their freedom in Christ. Paul made it clear that nothing is unclean by itself, but if someone sees it as unclean we need to be sensitive to that.

Romans 14:14-15

I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died.

We shouldn’t run our lives based on the convictions of others or what others believe is a sin or not a sin, but we should consider helping those around us who genuinely struggle with one particular behavior or another. Our responsibility is to act in love towards God and our fellow man. Paul said it well when he used the illustration of how our actions of love “Smells Good” to God!

Ephesians 5:1-2 

Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

The apostle John identified that love is “WALKING” in the commandments of the Lord and that includes loving our neighbor as ourselves. Professing Christ as our lord and savior means ultimately not only how we think but how we act.

2 John 6 

This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.

What might you be doing that hinders other believers’ walk in Christ, and what are you doing to help them become stronger servants of God? Resolve to seek the Holy Spirit for guidance about your walk and strive to adjust where he leads he leads you to adjust.

Questions:

1) Have you thought about how your walk in Christ encourages or discourages others? The Holy Spirit is waiting to help you understand.

2) Is there a life practice you use to justify your actions that discourages people around you?  1 John 1:9 is a good place to start and once done will free the Holy Spirit to counsel you further.

May we walk in great love toward others as we serve Jesus,

Pastor Dale