In my book, there is nothing better than good BBQ. It is one of my favorite hobbies, and if you look on my social media on Saturday nights, you will probably see what I grilled for dinner. Food is essential for our survival, but God also gave it to us to enjoy. We are neither better nor worse by what we eat. It’s a matter of the heart.
1 Corinthians 8:8
“But food will not commend us to God; we are neither the worse if we do not eat, nor the better if we do eat.”
Caught in the Middle
Corinth was a very vain culture. They put a lot of emphasis on personal appearances and having it all together. This was creeping into the church, and Paul was dealing with it. One of the issues was food offered to idols. I have shared earlier that Corinthians, including those in the church, would often buy meat sacrificed at Pagan altars because it was cheaper than what you could pay in the market. There was also another facet of this debate. There were trade unions that would have monthly association dinners that would take place at these temples where they would eat the same meat. The difference was that many of the pagan rituals happened as well. Christians were caught in the middle of this because they would have no work if they didn’t go. If they did, they would often be accused of idol worship. Paul lays this to rest by saying food doesn’t commend or condemn us to God.
Neither Better Nor Worse
Even today, people let issues like food trip them up. Someone gets serious about their health and eating right but lets it go too far and becomes judgmental of those who eat unhealthy. Other Christians get too extreme in areas like entertainment or apparel. The key here is that none of this stuff makes us holier in God’s eyes. He is not going to love us more either way. You need to learn that it will always be about your heart. He wants that to be right and for you to be growing in your faith.