Romans 14:1-23

How to be Spiritual 3

Face it, there are many grey areas in life. It might be nice if everything was black and white but not only is everything not black and white; very few things are black and white.

One thing that is black and white is that we are not assigned the task of judging others. Jesus said that when we judge the speck in our brother’s eye we are overlooking the log in our own eye. I believe He also said to not judge unless you want to be judged yourself. That is black and white.

What we eat or drink or wear, or where we do or don’t go, or the kind of language some may use, or any number of other things that we generally base our judgment upon are all grey areas.

I grew up in a culture in which many things were taboo. I remember when the Beatles hit in the USA. I was 13 and I liked them. This was frowned upon by most in our religious camp. I’ll never forget asking one somewhat contentious lady in the church, “What’s wrong with the Beatles?” Her reply? “You see, the very fact that you have a question shows there is something wrong.” Of course I was thinking, “The only reason I have a question is because you think something is wrong, because I don’t see it.”

Here is the rule in “grey” areas. Actually, there are two rules. Concerning yourself, if your conscious is clear and the Bible doesn’t explicitly forbid it then you are free to go for it. If the Bible doesn’t explicitly forbid it but your conscious is troubled by it then for you it is sin. (Though it may not be for someone else.) Concerning others, if someone you are with is going to be troubled by your actions in a “grey” area then abstain from such actions around them. That is not being a hypocrite, that is simply moving in love toward them.

One other wonderful thing from this passage is the definition of the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom is not a matter of material things. It is not a political movement or a bank account. The Kingdom is much more substantial and enduring than those things. The kingdom is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. That is being spiritual.