in a box

Over the past few days in my quiet time, I have been reading in Galatians. Chapter 2 really hit me hard. It talks about how "by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray" (2:13). Paul calls Peter out in front of everyone and he says "You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?" It is so detrimental to the cause of Christ when a Christian says one thing but does another. How can we tell others about Jesus and the things he tells us if we don't follow them ourselves. There are things that the Lord tells us not because he doesn't want us to have fun, but because he loves us and knows us personally. There are things he wants to protect us from. It might not be the "cool thing" or you might be "lame" but hey even Edward Cullen waits until he's married to have sex :) Even if you think noone knows what you do, people will always find out and it always does damage to what you say. I know it is so cliche but you really may be the only Jesus some people see. Whether it is at work, at school, or even at home, you never who is watching and listening to you. At SWITCH (church or the highlands high school ministry) we talked about the 1 Corinthians box. It is a reference for whenever you need to make a choice. There are 4 sides to the box and 4 verses.

The Verses: (NLT)

1 Corinthians 10:32 Don't give offense to Jews or Gentiles or the church of God

1 Corinthians 6:12 You say "I am allowed to do anything"--but not everything is good for you. And even though "I am allowed to do anything," I must not become a slave to anything.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Don't you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price so you must honor God with your body.

1 Corinthians 8:13 So if what I eat causes another believer to sin, I will never eat meat again as long as I live--for I don't want to cause another believer to stumble.

Put any decision in the box. If you break a side, you should not do whatever it is in the box. But if you can keep it in the box then it is probably ok. If you are in a situation and you're unsure, just put it in the box.