1 Corinthians 8--The Appearance of Impropriety

The second question posed to Paul in this letter concerns whether or not believers should eat meat sacrificed to idols. Paul explained that idols are not really gods and the food sacrificed to them is not tainted.

However, if a believer enters an idol's temple to eat this meat and is seen by a Christian brother, this brother may be encouraged to enter the same temple, but then he would feel guilty about eating meat sacrificed to some pagan idol and, all-in-all, his walk with the Lord would be damaged.

In today's society a comparison would be the instance of a believer entering a gambling establishment just to eat the food--eating the food may not be wrong in and of itself, but it looks wrong; i.e., it has the appearance of impropriety, and another believer who followed the example of the first may feel that he has dishonored God.

With all the above said, however, it must be noted that in the tenth chapter of First Corinthians, Paul tells the believers there is a time to stay away from meat sacrificed to idols because this meat, while not sacrificed to real gods, is being sacrificed to real demons, and believers (Christians) ought to have no part in this activity.

One might conclude from this chapter that Christians should be aware that others are watching them to see if their behavior is as righteous as their talk, or if their religion is just lip-service. It is important for believers to show self-restraint and be willing to forego the indulgences of their culture in order to demonstrate their faith and obedience to the one true God.