1 Corinthians 10:23-11:1
Verse 23 is a beautiful summary of a central ethical principle of the Christian faith: We do not act merely on the basis of what is permitted, or what is our right, but on the basis of what is beneficial and what builds up others. This moves the center of ethics from individual and self concerns to the concerns and benefit of all. A healthy and reconciled community takes precedence over standing for my private rights.
This approach seems to me to be almost opposite of American political philosophy. The U.S. Constitution contains a list of fundamental individual rights, and we have been guarding and adding to this list for over two hundred years. These rights include such things as the right to free speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of religion, and the right of all citizens–of any race or either gender, and of legal age–to vote. These rights have formed our core understanding of what is ethical. I am glad for this, since in a secular democracy one needs to operate on the basis of individual rights in order to maximize freedom and allow for pluralism.
But the church is not a secular democracy composed of all people within certain geographical-political boundaries. The church is a voluntary society within the larger society, composed of those who have made a commitment to follow Jesus. And our mission is not simply to maximize freedom or allow for pluralism; our mission is to maximize reconciliation–with God and our neighbors. We are a community of reconciliation–demonstrating reconciliation and sharing reconciliation. And this means that, for the sake of reconciliation and building up community, we may from time to time voluntarily set aside our individual rights and freedoms.
We should note, though, that sometimes the church has harmed individuals, and whole groups within the church, through a misguided focus on reconciliation and community. For instance, if the majority compels a protesting minority to conform for the sake of reconciliation and peaceful community, this is neither true reconciliation nor love. Paul’s approach to reconciliation is not compelling conformity, but honoring everyone and allowing room for everyone’s conscience within an overall attitude of mutual love and patience.
In verse 25 Paul shifts the discussion regarding eating meat in pagan temples. The problem is that even meat sold in the marketplace often came through the pagan temples. One often did not know whether the meat had been sacrificed to idols. In such cases, Paul’s advice is to not worry about it. If you do not know where the meat comes from, but you give thanks to God (the true origin of all good things) for the meat, then you have kept a proper spiritual focus.
Giving thanks to God for the good things we enjoy sanctifies those good things. Many Christians have fallen out of the habit of giving thanks before each meal, perhaps because they think it an empty ritual (or showing off). But giving thanks before we eat is a way of reminding us of God’s presence and provision, and it helps avoid selfish gluttony. Eating is an inherently pleasurable activity. As such it can easily become a thoughtless, selfish, gluttonous act. But by first giving thanks, we make eating into an act of gratitude and worship.
It seems to me that this holds true for any pleasurable activities in which we engage. Anything that is pleasurable has the tendency of becoming self-centered and uncontroled. But if we give thanks to God for each pleasurable activity, we sanctify it; we make it into an act of gratitude that honors God. Perhaps we should always say thanks for food, play and sex.
Paul concludes this discussion by saying, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” For many of us today, this sounds presumptuous and prideful. But I doubt that was Paul’s intent or motivation. Paul recongized that most of the members of the Corinthian church were new believers, and many had come straight out of paganism. They were in desperate need of good models for living a Christ-like life, and so Paul offered himself, for better or worse, as an example to follow.
Who do we imitate? Who are our models for life? We need good models or we are adrift. We need good models of marriage, good models of parenting, good models of teaching, good models for our occupations; and we need good models for faith and living out Christ’s way. If we are missing good models, it is probably because we are missing good community. So find a good community of faith and love.
