Disciplined Freedom

From time to time I read Valley of Vision (VV) in my Quiet Time.  Typically, I will read an entry and then daily go back through it thought by thought.  It has been interesting to see how often what I have read in VV has aligned or is supported by what I read in the Word that day.

For example, some months back I read in the section entitled “Requests”,

O God, May I never be a blot or a blank in life, or make my liberty and occasion to the flesh. (p 274)

That Day I read Galatians 5:13 (here @ BibleGateway), which lead me to 2 Peter 2:18 (here @ BibleGateway).  The clear message of the word and the quote from VV is that while we are free in Him, we cannot allow our freedom to hurt others.  

In 1 Corinthians 8 (here @ BibleGateway), Paul, while affirming the freedom of the Corinthian believers to eat meat sacrificed to idols, because, in fact, they are false, at the same time reminds them that if a fellow believer struggles with that freedom, they should not exercise their freedom for the sake of their “weaker” brother.  He tells them to limit their freedom in order not to cause their brother to stumble.

Paul repeats this exhortation in Romans 14:15 (here @ BibleGateway).  In fact, this was the first passage that I applied to my life as a new believer.  I was in Pilot Training in the Air Force.  The Officer’s Club was the place to be after the flight line.  Drinking beer was part of that scene as was playing foosball.  One Sunday night at First Baptist, I was attending “training union” with some other young adults.  We were going through Romans 14 (here @ BibleGateway).  The topic came up that we probably shouldn’t be drinking because it might damage our testimony to those who were not believers.  I pointed out that verse 14 (here @ BibleGateway) clearly stated nothing wrong with anything.  The leader emphasized the last part of the verse.  That part is nearly identical to the argument in 1 Corinthians 8.

If someone thinks that believers should not drink and they saw me drinking, it could be that I either damaged their faith or else hindered them from coming to the Lord.  I pondered that for some time.  As a matter of fact, I stayed behind after the meeting and worked through it alone.  I decided then that I would no longer drink beer or other alcoholic beverages in order not to cause others to stumble.

I learned through that experience both the impact of application and the importance of voluntarily limiting my freedom to better serve those with whom I wanted to sustain ministry.