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The theme for our reflection is service to Christ. Service to Christ means living to please Christ or obeying His Word and doing His will. We shall focus on the fact that we have been saved and called to fellowship with other believers to serve God. We must eschew the habit of judging others based on our cultural and personal preferences and learn to be tolerant, sensitive and respectful in our dealing with one another.

Paul addresses the issue of being culturally sensitive and not being judgemental over differences that bother cultural differences and personal convictions. The Roman church was a metropolitan Church that had both Jews and Gentiles Christians. Some of these Jews became Christian but still held on to their cultural beliefs about clean and unclean meat and days regarded as sacred, meanwhile, the Gentiles were more liberal in their approach to issues concerning wine and meat consumption and sacred days of the week. These were marked differences between the Jewish and the Gentile believers which became a source of division in the church. The Jews considered the Gentiles unclean because they consumed meat the Jews considered forbidden or unclean. The Gentiles also considered the Jews as legalistic. Paul’s letter was to resolve these differences and help them focus their attention on their service to God rather than focusing on things which are irrelevant to their salvation but may create disaffection and division in the church. Paul admonished them, “Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. ¹⁴ I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. ¹⁵ If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died. ¹⁶ Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil (Romans 14:13-16). In other words, keep your preferences to yourself and don’t let them be an impediment on the path of a fellow brother or sister who wants to also serve Christ. Let us be tolerant, accommodating, and sensitive in our relationship with one another in the church.

Beloved in the Lord, we come from different cultures and homes but in Christ, we are now one family. We should be culturally sensitive especially when it comes to what we drink and eat because it may be a source of disturbance to others’ conviction and beliefs. Similarly, we must not also look down or be resentful towards others because of their preferences when it comes to what they eat and drink. It is on this basis that we are being admonished not to be judgemental. In the same congregation, someone may enjoy eating pork and snake meat because that is part of his or her culture. We must not think of them as unclean merely because they eat pork, snake, dog or cat meat. Similarly, those who eat what is considered unclean by others should also do well not to impose or lure others to consume what they eat and drink, especially when it offends their conviction or sensitivity. Some people refrain from eating and consuming certain foods and drinks for religious reasons and that must be respected! Paul admonishes us that our focus should be on our service to God through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. After all, we are all ultimately answerable to God. In our service to God, we must love one another and do things that will please God even if we have to sacrifice our personal desire or preferences for the benefit of others. It is for this reason Paul wrote that “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, ¹⁸ because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval. ¹⁹ Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. ²⁰ Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. ²¹ It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall (Romans 14:17-21). The catch here is that we must be discerning and sensitive to our environment and do what is required of us as children of God in loving one another even as we render our service to Christ. Shalom.

In summary, we have learnt that we have been saved and called to fellowship with other believers to serve God. We must eschew the habit of judging others based on our cultural and personal preferences and learnt to be tolerant, sensitive and respectful to one another. Shalom.

PRAYER

Holy Spirit, grant us the discernment to focus on our unity and service to God. Help us to be tolerant, sensitive and respectful to one another even as we overcome issues that divide us in the church. Amen.