8:8
This verse puts things in perspective. The food itself is neither here nor there. It will not commend us to God. Eating or not eating it will not make us better or worse. We have a habit of letting our thinking go way off line when we get obsessed with things. We need to watch ourselves very carefully, especially if we start to get full of ourselves, or our perceived cleverness. This even applies to issues that really are important. The LGBT issue is an extremely important issue in the church and society these days, and covers many important issues, and is one I myself consider to be very important. However, it is vital that we do not allow it to consume us.
8:9-13
Now we get to what is actually the heart of the matter. How will my actions affect my fellow believer? I may be right, I may have the right to do something, but if doing that is going to be a stumbling block to my brother then I should not do it. I might object, “but it is my right”. So what? If my action, which is not wrong in itself, causes my brother, for whom Christ died, to stumble, then I am absolutely wrong to do it. We need a deep change of heart and mind. We need to protect our own conscience, and we need to protect our fellow believer’s conscience.
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