“Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.” (1st Cor. 8:13)
I was at the house of a pastor many years ago who happened to have some music playing from the stereo in his garage that, when a person from his church happened to arrive, he turned off, because he knew that person did not care for that music. He was, for whatever personal reasons, offended by it.
But, as soon as that man left, the pastor turned the music back on.
Is this what our opening verse to this short letter to you today means? Does “while the world standeth” mean the same as “as long as that person is in your presence?”
“For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.” (Gal. 1:10)
Care and concern for the weaker brother or sister, that bruised reed that our Lord was so cautious around, is of tantamount importance to us, but many tend to forget one of the verses in context with these verses.
“Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.” (Romans 14:3)
I believe I can say this in all honesty my friends, if you do your best to never offend anyone, you will fail.
You must remember that to offend means to cause a detrimental emotional context within someone, and that in part that person who is being offended life is still ruled by their emotions.
“I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean.” (Romans 14:14)
One of our adversary’s greatest tools in these evil days is for those who are in authority to side with those who are easily offended, offending someone, even if it is the truth, can be a cause for legal proceedings to begin against you, even when we judge with righteous judgement, using the Word of God to state obvious truths, if someone is offended by those truths, there is now legal precedence to cause personal repercussions upon us.
“Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.” (Romans 1:32)
The weaker brother or sister is never to be left in that state of ignorance concerning whatever it is that they are at that time offended by, these are not the swine we are not to cast the pearls of God before my friends, they are our family in Christ, the truth must be revealed to them of their error, how they accept that truth is completely up to them. They are to be corrected in love.
So then, only when they are in our presence, or never again as long as the world stands?
The fear of offending should never be at the forefront of our mind, speaking the truths in love of the words of God should be.
“As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.” (Gal. 6:10)
The wicked who hate our Savior are always searching for ways to cause tribulations to enter into the lives of those who serve Him, the Scriptures are full of this truth. To offend is to judge, and our adversary is leading them in deceitful ways in these evil days to enable punishment to come upon those who stand for the truth of the Scriptures.
It is expected.
What the Lord expects of us towards the weaker brother or sister who is offended, when they should not be, is to offer them the truths of the Word of God as well, to reveal to them the error of their current thinking on what they are offended by.
“All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.” (1st Cor. 10:23)
We never want to intentionally offend them, but even more damaging would be to leave them as they are.
If you have been blessed to realize the truths in this letter to you, then you are responsible to reveal those truths to them, not to just turn the music off when they arrive, and then turn it back on when they leave.
