however, means one is sinning against his own body. The danger is that you will trap yourself in a pattern of life that will ruin your testimony before the world, and your fellowship with the Lord. Do not feast upon that which you do not want to consume you. Recog nize what things tempt you and then stay away from them. The other thing is that we should recognize our higher allegiance (vrs. 19, 20). This may call for a reordering of your priorities even as you continue to recognize that our freedom is complete in Christ. How can we be, or allow anything to be, the master of anything if we have claimed Christ as our own Lord and Master. Consider your weaknesses and commit them to the Lord so that you can walk in the power of the Lord, through His indwelling Holy Spirit. Isn't it interesting that we have gone from the chariot to the rocket age, from the hand-written scrolls to the computerized, and yet we still have trouble getting a husband and a wife to live together peace fully. The church at Corinth won dered whether marriage was even practical. The seventh chapter of Paul's first letter to them deals with this point. Three times Paul indicates that some of his counsel is as he sees it, rather than the direct leading of the Lord (I Corin thians 7:6, 12). This is in contrast to verse 10 where the word comes as a command. In either case, the words are inspired and far better guidance than could be possibly found in any other manner. The whole subject of marriage was brought to Paul's attention by the Corinthians since they had been arguing over whether such a prac-
problem is that such activity would not fit in with his commitment to God. The illustration of this truth is capsulized in verses 15 through 17. There are certain things in Paul's estimation that simply strain man's relationship with his heaven ly Father. There are specific things, spelled out in Scripture, which we know we should avoid for they are not consistent with a life of service devoted to God. As believers we should be very sensitive to the ap pearance of our activities before others whom we may be seeking to win to the Lord. The second assertion Paul makes is that he does not want to be brought under the power of any of these practices. We are not to become slaves to some involve ment that is questionable. The Apostle wanted to be a "one mas ter" man. Jesus Christ alone can fill this need. This is illustrated by the subject of food (vs. 13). It is obvious that the body is made to consume food. This is the way we get our energy. The danger here is in becoming a slave to eating. The One who made the body as well as the food itself is God Himself. Our allegiance ought to be to Him, not that which He created. The same is true as he discusses the matter of fornication. We are not to be slaves to sex. Too often we are only intent on satisfying our own desires without any thought of what God has purposed for us. We are to keep away from those things where we know we already have a weakness. As Paul closes this section, he urges us, "Flee fornication" (vs. 18). Many of the things we do, whether we realize it or not effect others. To commit fornication,
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