1 Corinthians 10:23-27
“All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. For “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.” If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience.
Paul is not contradicting what he has written in this chapter. This is the position of those with knowledge about the truth about meat or food sacrificed to idols. When we come to Christ in faith, we see things in a new light. We experience a new freedom. We do things not out of fear or obligation, but out of joy and love. Our guiding principle becomes the law of love. We would not do anything that would cause other people harm. There are many things we are free to do in Christ, but we must always put our freedom under love.
Love also supersedes personal preferences. I have been in a few places where I did not know about the food, its preparation, or it healthiness. I have also gotten sick a few times from such food. We have to use wisdom about this when it comes to health matters. Paul is not talking about healthy or spoiled food here. If it would be a witness, then I should eat the fried grubs. The only time I can remember doing something like this that was really disgusting to me was when I was in the Philippines. The Nazarenes had been reaching out to a banker. One day I went in to the bank. He offered me a cup of coffee, so I took some and attempted to drink it with a straight face. I succeeded in getting the cup down as a form of being polite, but I had a terrible taste in my mouth the rest of the day.
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