DEVOTION – DAY 405

Romans 14:2-3 “Be Considerate And Accepting”

Romans 14:2-3 “One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them.”

In a multi-cultural and multi-faith society, food can sometimes become a divisive and sensitive matter. For example, Muslims do not eat pork. Their food must be certified Halal before Muslims would eat the food. Hindus, do not eat beef because the cow is a sacred animal in their religion. Taoists usually do not eat beef, and many practicing Buddhists are vegetarians. Strict Buddhists do not even eat anything cooked with garlic or onions. Jews also have their own dietary restrictions and would only eat kosher food. Because different people have different requirements regarding what is allowed to be eaten by them, it can cause misunderstanding or intolerance and even affect relationships. That was why the apostle Paul reminded us that regardless of our different backgrounds, when someone comes to place their faith and trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, God has accepted them. In God’s eyes, everyone accepted by Him and whose sins have been forgiven on the strength of Jesus’ death on the cross on their behalf, are treated the same by God. If that is the case, Christians should not be judgmental of others if they want to keep to their own dietary preferences. Tolerance, acceptance and understanding of each other are what they should be doing. 

Among our own family members, we have some who do not eat beef products. We also have vegetarians. We also have someone who is gluten and lactose intolerant as well. We do not allow these different preferences or restrictions to divide us. Instead, we accept these differences and serve dishes that everyone can enjoy together. In addition, we make it a point to thank God for the food for they are His gifts of nourishment for us all to enjoy. When we do that, we preserve peace and harmony in the family. 

As the seasonal year-end celebrations and the coming lunar new year will result in many rounds of feastings, the verses in Romans 14:2-3 are good reminders for us to extend goodwill and understanding to everyone because God has accepted us all. Let us not be divisive over small matters concerning what a person can or cannot eat. Let us be considerate to the dietary needs of everyone when they eat with us.

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, we thank you for the provision of food that we eat daily. Please help us to be gracious and accepting of others whose dietary needs may be different from ours. Just as you have accepted us, please help us to be accepting of others. We pray this in the mighty name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Questions

1. Amongst your extended family, what differences in dietary requirements have you got to consider?
2. How have you been gracious, understanding and accommodating to different dietary requirements? How can you be better at accommodating these differences?
3. Why is it important that you do not allow dietary differences to divide you?