November 30, 2024

There is a Buddhist temple in Tampa and every year, they have a festival where they sell their orchids. I love plants and had never been, so my daughter and I took a few hours out of our day to visit. The plants were gorgeous, and I bought several that were very unusual. While there, we enjoyed some delectable food options that were quite savory. My daughter and I knew very well that the people serving the food worshipped Buddha, and the temple we saw was dedicated to the dead, inanimate statue that represented their affection. However, as believers in Christ, how they felt about the object of their worship didn’t matter to us because we know the truth, and something stationary couldn’t possibly harm us because we were not worshipping with them. Now, if we had decided to pay tribute to their statue and partake of the food as a sacrifice to their God, we would have crossed a line, renouncing our faith in Jesus by worshipping such an object. Remember, you cannot serve two masters because when you love one, you will hate the other. Simply enjoying a bite of the food that is available is permissible according to scripture. All food is from God and blessed by Him when we pray. We have so much freedom in Christ; one day, we will realize just how much when we wake up to the truth. 

Conscience, I say, not thine own, but of the other: for why is my liberty judged of another man's conscience? For if I by grace be a partaker, why am I evil spoken of for that for which I give thanks? Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:29-31