The Weight-watchers weight-loss program is the best one I have ever used to lose weight. I only get truly hungry on rare occasions and I am eating more healthfully that I ever have. Periodically, though, I get the urge for something "less than wonderful" for me and today is one of those days. I went out for breakfast this morning and as soon as I entered my vehicle I had pork chops on the brain. Not sausages or steak or even my beloved liver- pork chops, it had to be pork chops. Why I don't know; I just had a craving. And the thing is- it is OK on weight-watchers to do something like that once in awhile. So, when I came home and saw this picture, I actually felt good about myself because whoever took the time and trouble to come up with this "Periodic Table" of meat is hooked-totally!!!! There are more important things in this world than meat (go ahead, just try telling the person who made this table!!!) and one of them is your fellow Christian. In ancient Corinth, meat was often offered to Pagan gods in temples and afterward sold in the meatmarket. So, Christians who ate meat in the presence of others who it might bother had a problem- do I eat it or not??? Here is the apostle Paul's answer to the problem...
1 Corinthians, Chapter 6
12 “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are expedient. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be brought under the power of anything. 13 “Foods for the belly, and the belly for foods,” but God will bring to nothing both it and them.
Chapter 8
1 Now concerning things sacrificed to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. 2 But if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he doesn’t yet know as he ought to know. 3 But if anyone loves God, the same is known by him. 4 Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that no idol is anything in the world, and that there is no other God but one. 5 For though there are things that are called “gods”, whether in the heavens or on earth; as there are many “gods” and many “lords”; 6 yet to us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we live through him. 7 However, that knowledge isn’t in all men. But some, with consciousness of the idol until now, eat as of a thing sacrificed to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. 8 But food will not commend us to God. For neither, if we don’t eat, are we the worse; nor, if we eat, are we the better. 9 But be careful that by no means does this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if a man sees you who have knowledge sitting in an idol’s temple, won’t his conscience, if he is weak, be emboldened to eat things sacrificed to idols? 11 And through your knowledge, he who is weak perishes, the brother for whose sake Christ died. 12 Thus, sinning against the brothers, and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore if food causes my brother to stumble, I will eat no meat forever more, that I don’t cause my brother to stumble.
Paul is saying that food in reality is nothing- take it or leave it. But, if by my eating meat that MAY have been sacrificed to an idol may hurt another's conscience, I should not eat meat!!! Now, I agree with Paul about being sensitive to another's person's conscience, but I DO NOT AGREE WITH THE PERIODIC TABLE AT THE TOP. Liver should be number 1, followed by pork chops and then turducken!!!!! And one more thing- eat more GATOR. We just have too many of them in Florida!!!!
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