Free to Eat, or Not

1 Corinthians 8:8

A funny thing happened to me recently. One of the sound-and-light people at the church where I pastor (a real character!) heard me teach on the subject of freedom. A couple of weeks later he pulled a gag on me. With an impish grin he said, “You had a birthday recently, didn’t you?” I nodded yes. He said, “You’re originally from Texas, right?” By now I knew I was in for something! “Yep,” I answered. He said, “Well, I have something for you.” He put a small can in my hand about the size of a can of snuff. It was a can of armadillo meat. I groaned. The label read, “Pure Texas Armadillo—sun-dried and road-tenderized.” The ingredients were printed on the other side: “Pure sun-dried armadillo, run over by a log truck three miles south of Pollok, Texas. Not over 20 percent hair and gravel. May contain foreign matter.”

He told me that since I was such a believer in grace, I was free to eat it. I thought, Whoa! This will gag a maggot! My point? Because of grace, my friend can eat armadillo and I can eat armadillo. It’s okay. It’s fine if he wishes to, but it so happens that God has led me not to eat armadillo. (It’s that “foreign matter” that concerns me.) But if you want to eat armadillo, that’s great! Personally, I have my own personal list of dietary don’ts (which includes armadillo). You may not have that on your list, so in good Texas fashion, “git at it.” I promise, I will not slander you or judge you as you munch on all that hair and gravel.

What in the world is all this about? Let me give it to you straight. Don’t give me your personal list of dos and don’ts to live by! And you can count on this: I will never give you my personal list of dos and don’ts to follow! Being free means you have no reason whatsoever to agree with my personal list; nor should you slander me because it isn’t exactly like yours. That is one of the ways Christians can live in harmony. It is called living by grace, and it is the only way to fly.

Taken from The Grace Awakening by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 1990, 1996, 2003 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson. www.thomasnelson.com

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Accuracy, clarity, and practicality all describe the Bible-teaching ministry of Charles R. Swindoll. Chuck is the chairman of the board at Insight for Living and the chancellor of Dallas Theological Seminary. Chuck also serves as the senior pastor of Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, Texas, where he is able to do what he loves most—teach the Bible to willing hearts. His focus on practical Bible application has been heard on the Insight for Living radio broadcast since 1979.

ఖచ్చితత్వం, స్పష్టత మరియు ఆచరణాత్మకత అన్నీ చార్లెస్ ఆర్. స్విన్డాల్ యొక్క బైబిల్-బోధనా పరిచర్యను వివరిస్తాయి. చక్ ఇన్సైట్ ఫర్ లివింగ్ కు బోర్డు ఛైర్మన్ మరియు డల్లాస్ థియోలాజికల్ సెమినరీకి ఛాన్సలర్. చక్ టెక్సాస్‌లోని ఫ్రిస్కోలోని స్టోన్‌బ్రయర్ కమ్యూనిటీ చర్చ్ యొక్క సీనియర్ పాస్టర్‌గా కూడా పనిచేస్తున్నారు, అక్కడ ఆయన చాలా ఇష్టపడేదాన్ని చేయగలుగుతున్నాడు-ఇష్టపడే హృదయాలకు బైబిల్ నేర్పిస్తున్నారు. ఆచరణాత్మక బైబిల్ అనువర్తనంపై ఆయన దృష్టి 1979 నుండి ఇన్సైట్ ఫర్ లివింగ్ రేడియో ప్రసారంలో వినబడుచున్నది.