The Limits of Christian Freedom

I have some pet peeves since moving to Oregon from Wyoming:

1. People who don't signal when exiting a traffic circle

2. Drivers who, out of supposed courtesy, wave someone into traffic while slowing cars behind them possibly causing a potential safety hazard

3. The 65 mph speed limit. Lame. It's 85 mph on Interstate 80 in Wyoming. I used to drive from my home in Laramie to Rock Springs (209 miles) to watch my son's soccer match in a little over two hours. Never got a ticket.

And finally:

4. CAN'T PUMP MY OWN GAS!!!

Only two states, New Jersey and Oregon, outlaw self-service gas. I realize in rural parts of Oregon, self-serve is allowed. But not in Bend!

I understand the reasoning behind no self-serve. It's just that I don't agree with it. I mean, isn't it my God-given right to pump my own gas? There must be a Bible verse somewhere that justifies my freedom for self-serve. It would be absurd to have someone else fill your tank when I lived in Wyoming.

Last week, when the Oregon legislature again failed to enact self-serve, I rolled my eyes and thought how shortsighted their action was.

But I'll continue to allow someone else to pump my gas because it's not an issue over which I'm willing to exercise my freedom at the expense of someone else's livelihood.

This same principle holds true when it comes to our Christian liberty.

We're free to do lots of things as Christians: drink beer (or not); enjoy a juicy ribeye; or catch, kill, and eat a hatchery steelhead. But not at the expense of the conscience of Christian brother or sister.

The apostle Paul in the New Testament has a lot to say about Christian freedom and conscience (Romans 14, 1 Corinthians 8-9 come to mind). I believe what he writes can be summarized in this statement:

I should never let the exercise of my Christian freedom be at the expense of another brother or sister in Christ because they are of much greater value than my liberty.

Here's an example. In 1 Corinthians 9, the apostle Paul talks about his right to expect financial support from those he serves as an apostle (9:1-2, 7-12a). Yet in the second part of verse 12 and verse 15, he writes: "But we did not use this right...But I have not used any of these rights". Why not? Because "we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ" (9:12b).

Church people are funny when it comes to money, even in Paul's day. He didn't want anyone to think he was in ministry for the money, even if others are perfectly within their rights to ask for financial support. Paul chose not to exercise his freedom to ask for such support, because he was thinking of others and the reputation of the gospel.

Hopefully, the application of this principle is obvious. Where in my Christian life am I knowingly or unknowingly exercising my freedom at the expense of another's conscience, someone for whom Christ died and redeemed? The apostle Paul sums it up best in another context in Romans:

Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall. (Romans 14:19-21, NIV)

Limits to our Christian freedom are not meant to crimp our liberty but to cause us to think of what's best for others.