"Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgement on disputable matters. One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that He might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God's judgement seat. It is written: 'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before Me; every tongue will confess to God.' So then, each will give account of himself to God.

"Therefore let us stop passing judgement on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way. As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. 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. Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men. 

Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. 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. It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall" (Romans 14:1-21).

These words have an application beyond just diet. The world is watching us, Christians and non-Christians, and we must act accordingly. And we receive double-edged instructions: If my activity offends someone, I should not perform that activity in front of him, including food or drink, movies, music, computer activity, smoking, anything that could be to him a stumbling-block. But having the Holy Spirit within me, I should not be offended or angered by the activity of another. It is not up to me to judge. It is up to me to love.

Paul instructed the Philippians to "continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act on His good purpose" (2:12b-13). Since I am free from the letter of the law, "Everything is permissible for me--but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible for me--but I will not be mastered by anything. Food for the stomach and the stomach for food--but God will destroy them both. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. By His power God raised the Lord from the dead and He will raise us also. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ Himself? . . . You are not your own; you were bought with a price. Therefore honor God with your body" (I Cor. 6:12-20). God has given me freedom, but with that freedom He expects me to make responsible choices with the way I represent myself and the way I represent Him. "Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling-block to the weak . . . Therefore, if what I eat [or watch or listen to or participate in] causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never [do it again], so that I will not cause him to fall" (I Corinthians 8:9, 13).

Pride can be a pit-fall. "Avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless" (Titus 3:9). I don't always have to have the last word; I don't always have to be right. I am responsible for seeking peace and pursuing it. "Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgement without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgement!" (James 2:12).

To remain merciful and non-judgemental toward others while doing my best to live above reproach is not easy. In fact, I fail all the time. Many times my ugly flesh still wants to rise up. But I truly desire to be a stepping stone and not a stumbling block to others, and my prayer is that Christ will continue to conform me into His image until the day of His coming when all things will be transformed. I give myself to the Potter's Hands.