I won't tell you my description of green tea because I don't want to offend those of you who like it. I once had to drink it for a cleansing diet, and I don’t care for it.
Tastes certainly vary: some people's taste buds pop with joy when they eat Limburger cheese while others can’t even stand the smell.
Some Peruvians savor roasted guinea pig (my husband has eaten it out of courtesy). Mexicans relish tripe, the rubbery stomach lining of a cow. The Japanese eat tuna eyes, and Cambodians enjoy fried tarantulas.
It's obvious that people enjoy a variety of tastes, and so does God. Why then do we Christians so often have trouble enjoying that variety within the body of Christ?
Why do we fight over non-essential doctrines long disputed by genuine Bible-believers? Why do we care more about our differences than our family ties (Romans 15:5-7, Revelation 7:9)?
Today, let's ask God to give us more grace for those with different non-essential beliefs...more grace than I give green tea.
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Source: 10 Weird Foods
Essential doctrines are non-negotiable: belief in the triune God as defined in Scripture, belief in the reliability of the Bible as God's Word, belief in Jesus as described in Scripture, belief in the deity, death, atonement and resurrection of Christ, belief in salvation by grace through faith alone. For example, see There's No Doubt about Christ's Deity and So Many Voices Worship Another Jesus.
Moral laws: Moral laws are also essential doctrines. We can't change God's view of modesty, pornography, human sexuality, honesty, or profanity based on current cultural practices. See God Defines Love, Sex, and Truth.
Non-essentials are beliefs not clearly defined in Scripture, leaving room for Jesus-loving, Bible-believing Christians to disagree (Deuteronomy 29:29; 1 Corinthians 13:12): views for or against Calvinism, views on the end times, views on the operation of the gifts of the Spirit, views on church government and sacraments, views on Bible translations, etc. See Romans 14, Is King James the Best Translation? and Productive Stables.
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Good post, Gail! I believe that the root cause of why some Christians are fearful of "variety" is because they have a hard time feeling justified in their own beliefs and the way they live and look. When everyone "looks" (and "tastes") the same, that "look" then becomes the basis on which to judge other Christian's righteousness. Comparisons among themselves become more important than comparing themselves to Christ and measuring up to His standards. The liberty for variety and pursuing personal convictions should lead us to rely on Christ and His approval and acceptance alone.
ReplyDeleteThanks again for speaking the truth boldly! ♥
Thanks, Brenda. I appreciate your comments and insights.
DeleteGail this is so true. My husband who is from the islands loves Tripe, yet I don't care for it all. I love cow's tongue and cow brain fritters and he does not. God has made us all with individual tastes, therefore we need to be more accepting of one another....accepting that is within the Word of God.
ReplyDeleteGod bless you!
My granddad used to eat cow brains and eggs, and I was fine with it until I found out what it was. I know half of the things I don't like are "in my head."
DeleteGail, I love ya' but I almost skipped this one! I had no idea what your subject matter was, but "suckin on a sock" just sounded disgusting! Thanks for always having something important and thought provoking - even if the title turns me off!! Knowing you as I do made me read it!
ReplyDeleteSorry, Carol : )
DeleteI didn't mean to offend you.
Glad you could look past your "distaste" for my title : )
Some Hungarians also like tripe, the rubbery stomach lining of a cow or a lamb. As for me, I don't care for it all. Well, there are certain reasons for being careful, especially when we are in the same ministry. The Scripture teach us to test spirits, too. It's not about difference of tastes, but the same Christ. Otherwise there is the command of love!
ReplyDeleteLove, Magdi
Thanks, Magdi, for sharing that about Hungarian foods. I didn't realize that. From our years in Budapest, I never thought any Hungarian foods were too strange, although I don't love the poppy seed paste in pastries : )
DeleteI love this!
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree about green tea... I wish that I could like the flavor, but it reminds me faintly of the scent of freshly caught fish.
I don't like green tea either, but there are some teas that I like. We should 'hung up' on what the Bible says instead of disagreements on issues that often are not even found in the Bible. I always love how you give an interesting example and then use it to bring out a valuable spiritual lesson.
ReplyDeleteGood points made. So often, sometimes even withn smaller divisions of the same denomination, we are separated by our different interprtations and opinions about doctrine and Scripture. We need to focus on what binds us together rather than what divides us, so that as Jesus said we can be one. How do we set examples of Chrisitanity to non-Christians if we are always nitpicking and fighting among ourselves?
ReplyDeleteSo funny! I love green tea :) Great message Gail, always short and sweet!
ReplyDeletePlease, what do you mean by differences on Sacraments? As an x-Catholic, please help me to see what you mean from the Bible. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteHi Mercy,
DeleteBy differences in Sacraments, I mean that there are different ways to handle the sacraments. For example, some churches have communion weekly and some monthly.
Baptisms are also handled differently. It's clear in Scripture that baptizing a baby doesn't save them. They have to make a personal decision for Christ. But some genuine believers choose to have infants baptized as a sign of including them in the community of God, not a sign of salvation. Regarding marriage, some churches require premarital counseling and they will not marry non-believers, other churches are okay marrying non-believers.
We all will decide what church we want to attend based on these differences, and I personally have my preferences, but we shouldn't let these things prevent us from having fellowship with believers who do things differently than we do.
I hope that helps explain.