“‘I have the right to do anything,’ you say — but not everything is beneficial. ‘I have the right to do anything’ — but not everything is constructive.” (1 Corinthians 10:23 NIV)
Some things are not necessarily wrong; they’re just not necessary. Most of the choices you make in life are not really a matter between good and bad. It’s more a matter of what’s best for you.
The Bible talks about this in 1 Corinthians 10:23: “‘I have the right to do anything,’ you say — but not everything is beneficial. ‘I have the right to do anything’ — but not everything is constructive” (NIV).
A lot of things are morally neutral. To make a good decision, you need to go to a higher standard and ask, “Will what I’m about to do make me a better person?” That’s called the improvement test.
I remember many years ago when Kay was nursing our baby, who always got hungry about noon, and so she would sit down to feed the baby and turn on the TV. What’s on TV at midday? Soap operas. So she started watching a soap opera as she fed the baby. Evidently soap operas run into each other. One leads right into the next one. Pretty soon she was watching two. After a while, three. And those babies were getting fat!
After a while she said she realized she wasn’t doing this for the babies anymore. She was actually rearranging her schedule to make sure she could see those shows. She’d start thinking, “I’ll do ironing right now” or “I’ll clean up the kitchen,” and she’d make sure she had to be wherever the TV was.
All of a sudden she got connected to the lives of fictional people. She became intimately interested in the lives of people who didn’t even exist! Then one day it hit her like a ton of bricks: “I am wasting my life! This does not make me a better woman or mother or wife. It has no redeeming value. I could be caring about people who do exist.”
Are you more interested in fictional characters on TV than you are in Paul and Peter and the disciples and what God wants to do in your life? Do you invest your time in the shallow lives of people who fill celebrity magazines? Are you glued to ESPN from the moment you get home on Friday until Monday morning?
Are these things evil? No. Are they bad? No. But the question is not, “Is there anything wrong with it?” The question is, “Will it make me more like Jesus?” PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick>> Talk It Over
What are some things you do or habits you have that are not bad but aren’t God’s best for you?
“Each of us will give an account of himself to God. Try to live in such a way that you will never make your brother stumble by letting him see you doing something that he thinks is wrong.” (Romans 14:12-13 TLB)
One of the biggest mistakes we make in life is forgetting how much our actions influence the people around us. Every day you are tempted to make decisions that may be the best thing for you but could have a devastating effect on the people around you. If you want to make wise decisions, you need to ask, “Will my choice harm other people?”
That’s the opposite of our culture. Our culture teaches us to think only of ourselves. But God expects you to think more of others than you do yourself. In fact, the Bible says that one day you’re going to be judged by God on how your decisions affected other people.
Romans 14:12-13 says, “Each of us will give an account of himself to God. Try to live in such a way that you will never make your brother stumble by letting him see you doing something that he thinks is wrong” (TLB).
You may not like hearing this, but whether you like it or not, you are being watched — all the time. If you’re a parent, you should be especially aware that little eyes are always watching you. You’ve got to be careful about what you say and do because you’re influencing not just your life but the next generation as well.
Show respect for authority. If a police officer pulls you over for a ticket, even if you think he’s wrong, you treat him with respect.
Don’t call in sick when your family is actually going to the beach for the day.
Don’t bring supplies home that you stole from the office to use for personal benefit.
Don’t brag in front of your kids about all the ways you’re ripping off Uncle Sam in taxes.
Don’t watch the awful stuff that’s on TV and in the movies with your kids. Think about if you should be watching it at all.
Mature people limit their freedom for the benefit of others. Because you’re afraid of what other people think? Of course not. You do it out of love. In situations where there is no clear right or wrong, you have to ask yourself, “How will my decision affect other people?” PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick>> Talk It Over
How does pride get in the way of considering how your choices affect other people?
Does it matter if the other person thinks what you’re doing is wrong even if you think it’s right? Why or why not?
What does it mean to limit your freedom for the benefit of others?
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