are to lend a helping hand not a pushing hand. There is a solemn warning from Paul who says, "But take heed, lest by any means this liberty of yours becomes a stumbling block to them that are weak" (I Corinthians 8:9). We must take care that we use our lives in such a way that a weaker Christian will not stumble. For this reason, as we face certain possibil ities, even though our consciences may be clear, with our relationships firmly established through Christ, we still have an obligation to watch out for the weaker brethren. Here is one way I can illustrate it. If you sing in the choir and your voice is not too good, you might feel the stares of other singers as well as the look of horror on behalf of the director. Someone might even have to tell you to find anoth er place of service in the church. Without too much trouble we can easily be made to feel out of place in some circumstances. The trag edy is that it is easy to make others, who lack knowledge or the ability to perform as we can, to feel inferi or. They may even be encouraged to drop by the wayside (I Corin thians 8:9). We must not be a stumbling block to those who are weak. We must always be on guard when it comes to our behaviour patterns (vs. 13). To trip up another becomes an affront to Christ. Biola is deeply concerned about the atti tudes and involvements of its stu dents, faculty members, staff, and Board. Their behaviour is being observed closely by others. There is a danger that we cause someone else to fall. If an individual has his
there is no other God but one." The weaker brother certainly had not come this far. The problem is, however, that knowledge can be a source of pride. There is certainly nothing wrong with knowing var ious things, but when we think more highly of ourselves than we ought, when we become puffed up, we stand in real jeopardy. There is a lack of Christian grace. As believers, our primary obli gation is to love since this is what really edifies. This is the whole thrust of the great chapter on love, chapter 13. Vs. 5 tells us that love seeks not its own. These individ uals seemed to be interested only in serving themselves. While we stand in Christ alone there needs to be caution lest we allow knowl edge to be a source of pride and bitterness. We are to build up others. Then again, the knowledge they had was limited and far from being enough (vs. 2). They really had in sufficient information to live wisely. We might use this definition, "A wise person is an individual who is smart enough to know that he does not know everything." Such in essence are carnal Christians who had to be fed on milk when there was meat available. These people had a long way to go. One other key area where they were lacking was that of being sen sitive to the needs of other Chris tians in their fellowship. How often do we today think only of our selves. There is a danger in trying to justify our own acts. This is why we must keep our relationship with the Lord right, studying the Word of Cod to find His will for us. We
Jan Reihmer is a Junior in the Biola nursing program.
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