Paul starts off this chapter not with a litany of heroes of the faith or great accomplishments in God’s name, but with a list of all the times Israel screwed up. Paul points to everything that happened in the wilderness after Israel fled from Egypt— all the grumbling, the immorality, the attempted coups, the idolatry. We speak so highly of “God’s people,” but here Paul provides a word of caution not to repeat their mistakes. Israel was tempted and succumbed, but Paul wants his listeners to pursue a higher standard: to resist temptation or at least flee from it. (And yes, verse 13 is the out-of-context origin of “God won’t give you more than you can handle,” but for more on this strange little verse and what it actually says, check out this other post.)

Paul addresses all this because he’s still not quite done talking about the meat sacrificed to idols (click here and here for the last two weeks’ lessons). Paul’s ultimate concern in all of this has not been what may be theologically correct or the “right answer” regarding sacrifices. Paul is concerned about this community of young Christians and wants to see them helping one another as they seek to be more like Christ. He wants to see them behaving as one body and treating one another with a higher level of love. He calls on them not to be stumbling blocks to one another (again, more on this term here), and he states it beautifully in v. 24:

No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.

For Paul, life in community transcends the issue. Taking care of others takes precedence. When you refuse or accept one of these ritual meals, stop to think about who you are communing with. Are you inviting the presence of God or caving in to bad habits? Are you being hospitable or being self-righteous? And admittedly, we may not always be able to tell in the moment, but Paul gives us a helpful rubric:

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31)

Jesus hung out with some pretty disreputable folks and did some pretty taboo things, but it was all to show humanity what God is really like. Paul calls on us, whether we violate taboos or maintain them, to keep this example in mind. Consider whether your actions may point others toward God or if, like Israel in the wilderness, your actions are more self-serving in nature. We may not always know in the moment, but so long as we maintain the desire to show the love of God and imitate God, it’ll be okay.