Have you ever used your words that made someone stumble? Maybe they were negative words. Maybe your actions caused a friend to fall.
Has this ever happened to you?
“Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble.” -Romans 14:20
I love what Paul says here… “…it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble.”
To me, he’s not just talking about food but everyday life.
A few months ago my sister asked me if I could feed her horse, Dandy, for her just this one time. Well, one time turned into twice a week. Then, she would keep asking me if I could feed him for her.
One day I just got fed up with it and told her this is the last time I’ll ever feed him and that she needs to find someone else to do it!
I was sooo mad.
As I was walking to the barn to feed Dandy I thought of the above verse, “…it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble.”
I knew my sister was busy with her day job, my nephew, and the business she just started with her husband. And, for me, I was being selfish. I work from home and I’m fully capable of feeding her horse, but I just didn’t want to.
At that moment I knew I was causing her to stumble. She has a lot on her plate, and here I was not wanting to help.
But, after Romans 14:20 came to my mind (God put it there), I sent her a text and told her to never worry about Dandy again because I will make sure he always gets fed.
I didn’t want to be the cause of her stumbling. Why make someone stumble if you can help them up?
“If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died.” -Romans 14:15
Remember, if you’re causing someone to stumble, if someone is distressed because of what you do then you’re no longer acting in love.
Do you have any stories you can with us about making someone stumble, or someone making you stumble? Please leave them in the comments below or send me a message through the contact page.
Keep spreading the love!
Well… yours is the first email/blog post I read on this day – and I can tell you that it’s just what I needed to ‘hear’.
I’m sensitive enough in my mature years to not want to intentionally cause anybody to ‘stumble’ on account of my words… but unintentionally – I know I do at times.
Thanks for a well written post.
Glad to hear, Mike! 🙂
Thanks for sharing!
-DH