9 But be careful that this right of yours in no way becomes a stumbling block to the weak. (1 Corinthians 8:9 CSB)

Paul wanted to be all things to all people. He also said that while everything is permissible, not everything is beneficial. In those cases and with our scripture today, we have great freedom in God but we need to be careful how we use that freedom.

Culturally there are many things that make us unique. Some of those things are religiously driven and some are simply cultural norms. But in either case we need to be conscious of two things.

First, we should not go against our own moral or ethical compass. We have a set of standards we live by. In our faith walk those should be driven by our understanding of scripture and the teachings of the learned and properly practicing faithful.

Second, we should not become a stumbling block for others. We should become knowledgeable about other’s cultural norms and make sure that nothing we do would cause them to stumble due to our freedoms. This is not to say that we must live by their compass but that take our actions into submission so that we can be a good witness.

This also crosses cultural boundaries when we consider those who have had a life of addiction or other life altering situation. It is about being sensitive to those around us and making sure we are not tempting them or creating some stumbling block that would keep them from faith.

When we do this in love we live the life Christ created us to live.