Devotion #4: Stumbling

Growing up, I always remember visiting my grandparents for vacations. They lived in the middle of nowhere, in a little town called Mifflinburg, Pennsylvania. On one vacation, we were out in the barn where the cows stayed, shoveling manure (a really fun vacation). While we were working, my older sister thought it would be funny to trip me, causing me to fall face-first into a pile of cow manure. I was only four years old at the time, so I darted straight down to the house, crying to my mom about how she tripped me and how I was covered in poop. 

Our verses for today talk about a different kind of stumbling. It is not a physical stumble where you fall into a pile of manure, but a spiritual stumble. 

In Romans 14:20-23, Paul writes, “Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.” 

In these verses, the “food” Paul refers to relates to the Old Testament Law, which forbade Jews from eating certain foods because they were considered unclean. In Mark 7:19, Jesus declared that all foods are clean (a point Paul reiterates in verse 20). For the Gentiles (the people Paul is addressing in Romans), this declaration did not significantly affect their way of life. They had not grown up in a culture that abstained from certain foods. 

However, for Jewish believers, this was life-changing. They had spent their lives being told that eating certain foods was sinful. Now, suddenly, everything was permissible. For many, this led to a struggle of conscience or even doubt about whether they should eat these foods. 

Paul’s message to the Gentile believers is clear: do not pressure Jewish believers into violating their conscience, as this would cause them to sin. While eating these foods is not inherently sinful for either Jewish or Gentile Christians, Paul points to a deeper truth - each believer is at a different stage in their walk with Christ. Our brothers and sisters in Christ have different convictions, and ignoring or dismissing those convictions can lead them into sin. 

Paul calls us to respect the convictions of others and not to be a stumbling block. Instead, we are to build one another up. In 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NIV), Paul says, “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up.” Let us honor and respect the unique journey of each believer, and let us focus on encouraging and strengthening one another in the Lord.