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February 11, 2000After his fiery defense of his own ministerial style in chapter 9, Paul returns to the question of eating meat sacrificed to idols. He tells the Corinthians that they have to beware of overconfidence in eating idol meats, lest they back into idolatry unaware and find themselves substituting banquets of evil for the table of the Lord. He also addresses the question of the spiritual harm that might be done to believers by a Christian’s taking advantage of the freedom his own conscience offers. The other’s conscience is important, too. Now, in our text, (the last from First Corinthians this year) comes another summary passage.
There’s a general rule at play in this context of what we are permitted to eat and drink, Paul says, and that is to be mindful of the requirements of God’s glory. Don’t make problems for anybody. Try to behave is a way that shows the most concern for the most people without always invoking your own rights and preferences. That’s what I do and I do this because this is what Christ did.
Here Paul is referring to his own practice of accommodating himself to the sensitivities of those with whom he is dealing. He didn’t flaunt his freedom from Jewish law when dealing with Jews. He didn’t invoke dietary scruples when eating with pagans. By not taking advantage of options that were rightfully his, he tried to avoid causing problems for believers. Paul behaved as he did in imitation of Christ. For the sake of our salvation Christ became a human being, He lived poor, He died on the cross. He didn’t have to do any of that, but He did because He wanted to save us. Like Christ, Paul was concerned for the ultimate well-being of others rather than with his own prerogatives, and he calls for a similar attitude on the part of his Corinthian converts.
There are two ways to look at what Paul is saying here. The first is to examine its negative implications. "Don’t be so concerned with your own rights and privileges that you end up giving offense to people." Beware of causing scandal.
In our ordinary way of speaking, scandal denotes circumstances or actions that offend propriety or established moral norms. "He left his wife and children and eloped with the teen aged girl next door. What a scandal!" In theological parlance, however, scandal means behavior that causes other people to be shaken in their faith or their religious observance. Scandal may be sinful behavior that causes others to sin. But sometimes the behavior may not be wrong in itself, yet cause problems for others. An easy attitude about the Sunday Mass obligation may cause harm to more strict observers, even as scrupulously exact devotional practices may elicit distaste in other members of the community. Sometimes even the tone and vocabulary we use when expressing our opinions can offer offense. Scandal is action that puts stumbling blocks in the path of others’ path to God.
To avoid scandal doesn’t mean that we have to spend our whole lives worrying about what other people might think about what we do, but it does demand that we be aware that what we do and say may have consequences beyond what we intend.
(There is also another kind of scandal that theologians have identified. It is called pharisaical scandal. It is a pathological mind set that causes those affected with it to be determined to be offended. Whatever the other person does or says constitutes a cause for dismay, outrage, disillusionment. Bishops and parish priests are often the targets of this kind of scandal. This is not what Paul is talking about here.)
On the more positive side, Paul is reminding us that we share responsibility for the spiritual good of those around us. We have something to contribute to the glory of God. Little sacrifices of our legitimate personal tastes and preferences can contribute to the salvation of our brothers and sisters, believers and non-believers alike. Keeping quiet when we could rightly lodge objections, going the extra mile in religious observance beyond what is strictly called for, being willing to forego our own devotional preferences for the sake of the community - all these are relatively small things, things to which we are not strictly obliged. Yet they may constitute important contributions to somebody else’s relationship with the Lord, important steps in somebody else’s salvation. Being a Christian believer is not just a matter of tending to my own needs and seeking "my own benefit". It’s also a matter of looking out for the benefit "of the many, that they may be saved." We are all called in these matters to be imitators of Paul, and thus imitators of Christ.
There isn’t much idol meat in the markets these days. We don’t have to worry a lot about the implications of going to dinner with pagans. But that doesn’t mean that the advice that Paul offered the Corinthians has no significance for us.
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Conversation Questions.
Have I ever been scandalized by another member of the Church?
What efforts do I make to avoid giving spiritual offense to others?
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