Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another. — Romans 14:19
One of the amazing things about life is that we all have our personal preferences and opinions. Some may prefer to eat red meat, others may prefer to eat only vegetables. Some people prefer to drive SUVs while others prefer to drive a car. These differences are what make each of us unique. God gave us all unique qualities and passions in life to serve His purpose.
But what happens when our personal passions become more than just passions? For example, what do we do when those passions start becoming things that we require of others. If other people do not align with our preferences and passions, at times we become judgmental, segmented, and contention enters into our society.
We see this a lot in our society today. Someone has a passion for something and they insist that everyone else must have the same passions. If you don’t, they become judgmental against you, working against you and your ability to participate in the same society that they do. That is not the way that God designed things.
In these verses in Romans, Paul was sharing with the church in Rome that they needed to set aside the things that caused contention between them and work toward the most important thing to all. He wanted them to understand that sharing the love of Christ and that all come to know forgiveness in Christ was more important than contention over passions. He never said that passions were bad, but he said that Christians should be working toward things together that make for peace.
We may disagree with other Christians based on their passions. You may not have the same passions as me, but we should strive to work together for the most important thing of all. Our personal passions must take a backseat to the cause of Christ. We must work together on things that edify God, Christians who may be struggling around us, and show the world that God is the most important thing to us. After all, it should be the most important thing to all!
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