1 Corinthians 8:13 Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.
As an American church, we have not considered our connection with each other in the Body as have other people living in different places and cultures. We are about individual rights. We exalt the individual and often neglect the consensus. I think we are often myopic in our outlook, seeing only those things that are close to us and missing those beyond the confines of our homes.
This is especially evident today after what happened yesterday. History was written, as it is every day. The divisions that yesterday highlighted are a sign of this individualist mindset. So how do we begin to look out for the needs of others instead of ourselves?
Before I continue, all that I am going to say applies to followers of Jesus and not to those who don’t follow Him. The Church is supposed to live by a different standard. We are supposed to be living in such a way that our lives reflect the holiness of our awesome God.
So no matter who you voted for in the recent election, as a believer, we have an obligation to demonstrate the love of Jesus to everyone. There is no place in the body for political division. Let’s not reject a fellow believer because they stood for the person we opposed.
What this means is that we had better not be gloating publicly about the victory of our side. There is no place for rubbing a fellow believer’s face in defeat. This is not the behavior of a follower of Jesus.
Instead, we should follow Paul’s advice in our text. Our behavior should be such that it won’t cause them to stumble and fall. Private celebrations are one thing; public gloating is another. Protests and riots don’t fit the cause of Christ.
We can choose to lift up Jesus, both in our personal life and in the public square. We can hold accountable those who lead, as one under authority that was given by God. But we must never do actions that act as a stumbling block or spiritual detour for a fellow brother or sister in Christ. We want the road to fellowship to be clear of obstacles, especially those planted by one side or the other.
We have an obligation to think about others when we choose actions. Let’s choose our actions wisely today.
The Arnold Journey 