Justice, Mercy & Love with Food at our Tables
The apostle Paul in his letter to the church of Corinth, wrote about eating food sacrificed to idols, which you can read more about in ‘Not All in the Name.’ He wrote about not eating the meat served to idols if it caused a brother or sister to stumble. He also said to not serve it to the brother or sister who was too weak to eat it. What he reconciles is Psalm 24, citing that the earth is the Lord’s and everything given in thanksgiving to God can be received. This gave permission to those who did not stumble and/or were not too weak to eat the meat.
How does this translate today?
This translates into serving food to a person who has a very clear food conviction, which goes outside of that food conviction (even if you think it ridiculous or don’t adhere to the same standards, which I’ll go into more in the next couple days). Food is second to loving the person–this is key.
I often see people associating this with someone being vegan, vegetarian, or another religious conviction. But I’m going to weigh in on another food related topic.
Overeating
What about the couple coming over for dinner who struggles with over eating, or weight issues? Would serving that dessert be beneficial or loving to them? Too often in Christian circles these verses of not making another brother stumble is equated with alcohol, while desserts & sugars are not.
I clearly remember Ben saying how he got annoyed with this application of Scripture, while he argued that he found it hard to say no to desserts and that is just as big of a stumbling block in his life. I don’t believe this means I should never make a dessert for others, specifically those who are overweight. Rather, it’s something I know I need to be highly sensitive & conscientious about.
In our family, I have learned how to use my love of baking as a creative outlet, while loving my family by not having the goods around “too often;” as I know it can become that stumbling block.
Weigh in with your thoughts!
Backdoor Hospitality 
I never thought about food being a stumbling block to others, even though it so blatantly is in my own life. My dad is an recovering alcoholic, over 15 years of sobriety after struggling for more than 40 years, and I would never DREAM of having alcohol available at a dinner at my house. Even though I know that he's been delivered and set free from that, I wouldn't want to be the cause of him slipping into temptation. The same would be true for offering desserts. As harmless as it may seem, offering a sweet treat, even under the veil of hospitality, would cause someone to stumble if that was an area of concern for them. I know if someone offered it to me, I would take it even though I didn't want it so I wouldn't seem ungrateful to their hospitality. For example, yesterday I went through a drive thru and the girl mistakenly put fries in our bag even though no one ordered them. Instead of insisting she take them back or even throw them away myself, I ate them. They were available. So I ate them. Thanks for this thought provoking post!
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Yes Jill–you're so right. Of course, I don't want to come across that making desserts is always wrong…simply something to think about with balance.
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