Begin with two minutes of silence and stillness before God.
Have you ever decided at some point that you were going to go for a run? It could have been a simple lap around a track, a couch to 5k, or even for you crazy people, an Iron Man. Most of us who have been on runs before have run with other people to share in the misery, I mean, the joy of fellowship.
I used to run a lot in middle and high school, competing in Track and Cross Country. It was really one of the only sports I was good at. So, I do know that one of the worst feelings in the world is running with someone who is faster than you. You try to keep up, but slowly you feel your heart beat faster, your legs move slower, and each breath grows harder than the last. Till poof, you look up and see your “running buddy” fade off into the distance, leaving you alone, out of breath, out of shape, and feeling like you should never run again.
Hold on to this thought, because this is very similar to how we sometimes feel in our Faith walk (run) as well. There are some of us who have been believers for a long time, have seen the Lord move in crazy ways, and we don’t struggle with the sins and temptations we used to. We are strong in our faith. But some of us are just starting out in our Faith walks, or maybe are starting to take deeper steps in our journey, or have just struggled and battled years of addiction and temptations. So some might say we are weaker in the Faith.
The point is, when it comes to our faith, we are all in different spots on the journey. The early church saw this, too, and Paul is addressing it. Yesterday, we talked about gray areas and the wisdom they require, but today we are specifically looking at how we navigate them with other believers. As “strong” Christians, it can be so easy to assume that everyone else in the faith is just like you and does not struggle like you do. But like a faster runner, if we keep this mentality, we will leave our other brothers and sisters in the dust, leaving them hurting and struggling on their own.
This chapter starts with Paul telling us, “We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.” In other words, just because you can do something lawfully without sinning does not mean every believer can. Think of it, maybe you are riding in a car to the gym with your friend. You start playing some secular music to get hyped up. You can listen to the music without it affecting you, but your friend used to be heavy in the party scene, and the music takes him back to those memories. When he is by himself, he avoids that music, but because you feel comfortable with it, you expose him to it, making him relive past sins and tempting him to go back.
This is a small example and one I have faced in my own life. Is it a sin to listen to secular music? No, it is not. But is listening to that music worth causing a fellow believer to sin? That is up to you. When we look at Jesus’ life, we see that He could handle any sin or temptation brought before Him and still not sin. But those around Him would fall. Jesus walked and lived with His disciples, protecting them. Though they still sinned, it was not because Jesus had put them in a position to sin.
Our mission this side of eternity is to live like and point others to Christ. What you do in moderation, someone struggling will do in excess. This might mean that sometimes we have to give up something we like so that we do not burden our fellow brothers and sisters. It can be hard and frustrating at times, but I want to encourage you to be a good “running buddy.” If you see a fellow believer struggling with a sin or temptation, do everything in your power to walk with them and not be an excuse for them to further in that sin. Don’t leave them in their struggle, but slow down, encourage them, and run closer to Christ together.
Take two minutes to reflect in silence.