Romans 14
(1) Whether you indulge or abstain, do it for God
If someone’s trust in Jesus is weak, then you should welcome that person instead of criticizing them for questioning. Some people trust that they can eat all kinds of foods (which goes against Israelite customs), while weaker people only eat vegetables. But if you eat all kinds of foods, you shouldn’t despise people with strict diets—and if you have a strict diet, you shouldn’t scold people who eat everything. After all, God has welcomed both kinds of people.
Who are you to evaluate someone else’s servant? Their boss is the one who decides if his servant stands or falls… and the servant will stand because the Commander can stand people up.
Some people regard one day more highly than other days, while other people regard all days alike. Both of those people should be fully assured in their own minds. The person who is mindful of the day is mindful for the Commander. People who eat do so for the Commander (because they thank God for their food), while people with strict diets also do so for the Commander and thank God.
We don’t live for ourselves, and we don’t die for ourselves. If we live, we live for the Commander—and if we die, we die for the Commander. So either way: whether we live or die, we belong to the Commander. The Chosen One died and lived again so that he might be the Commander of both the dead and the living.
(10) Be courteous of other Christians’ convictions instead of criticizing them
But bring it back to you: why do you criticize your fellow Christians? Why do you treat them with disgust? All of us will stand before God just like it’s written:
“The Existing One says, ‘As surely as I live, every knee will bend to me, and every tongue will celebrate me.’”
—Isaiah 45:23
On that day, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God. So let’s stop assessing each other and assess this question instead: how can I avoid putting obstacles and trip wires in front of other believers? I know (and am confident in Commander Jesus) that nothing is inherently unholy—things are only unholy to the people who conclude that they’re unholy.
If a fellow believer is distressed because of the food you eat, then you aren’t conducting yourself from a place of love. Don’t let your food wreak destruction on the people who the Chosen One died for.
Don’t let something that’s good for you be denounced, because God’s empire isn’t about eating or drinking—it’s about righteousness, peace, and delight in the Purest Spirit. Whoever serves the Chosen One in this way pleases God and gains approval from others. So let’s chase after the things that cultivate peace and strive to build up each other. Don’t throw away Gods work for the sake of food. Everything really is pure, but things become harmful for the people who trip when they eat them. It’s honorable to avoid consuming meat or alcohol or doing anything that could offend your fellow believer. Keep your trust to yourself because it’s just between you and God. People are happier when they aren’t reprimanding themselves for the things they endorse. But if you have divided thoughts, then you’ll be incriminated for eating other foods since your eating doesn’t come from a place of trusting God. Everything is corrupted if it doesn’t come from a place of trusting God.