Offending Weaker Brothers

I've often heard the teaching that, as Christians, we shouldn’t do anything that might offend somebody. While there is a biblical truth about being an offense that we need to understand, it's also the case that many Christians have been put into bondage by faulty teaching about the passage in the New Testament which speaks about not being a stumbling block for weaker brothers. Some have misrepresented that text and suggested that if anything that you might do could potentially be offensive to somebody else, then you ought not to do it. That’s not at all what the Bible teaches.

The Scripture does teach that we are to relate to each other on the basis of love. Loving people in the most effective way - that is the key. There is no disputing the fact that the Scripture says that if we have a weaker brother in our lives, who does not understand our freedom in Christ, then because of our love for that brother, we might be wise to be cautious and careful in our behaviors, so as not to offend the person. That’s an act of love, it’s an act of grace toward a weaker brother - someone who’s not strong in grace.

On the other hand, I think the verse has sometimes been taken to the extreme and taught to mean that if somebody is not going to like something that you do, then you ought not do it. The truth is, to approach the Scripture from that viewpoint, will cause you to go into bondage, because there will be many things in your life that somebody believes you shouldn’t do.

If you look across the body of Christ, there’s a diverse body of opinion about different things within the church world. Christians differ about music, movies, dress, alcohol, women in ministry, styles of worship . . . the list goes on and on. Some parts of the Body of Christ get into issues like where we should shop. For instance, I spoke to somebody the other day, who said that they believe that Christians ought not shop at WalMart, because this Christian believed they practice unfair labor practices. That is a conviction that they have. Well, does that mean that I should never shop at WalMart, for fear of offending that person?

The bottom line is this: To say that you shouldn’t do anything that might offend someone isn't true. You need to relate to every person in love, but recognize that Jesus Himself sometimes offended religious people by the things he chose to do. He healed on the Sabbath. In fact, He said and did many things they didn’t like. So we relate to people from a heart of love, but we don’t allow ourselves to be controlled by public opinion. The Holy Spirit will show us the balance between the two if we truly love people and ask Him to guide us.