“All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. (ESV)

Are you struggling with eating meat that’s been sacrificed to idols? Yeah, me neither. Wait…what? Is that what these verses are about?

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Well, yes, that’s the catalyst for this portion of Paul’s message to the church in Corinth. For chapters 8, 9, and 10 of 1 Corinthians, Paul walked the young church through this challenging cultural issue. Back in the day, pagan priests would divide meat sacrifices three ways – a third was burnt for the god, a third was given to the worshipper to take home and eat, and a third was kept by the priest. Often the priest would sell his third at the temple market or restaurant. This created a dilemma for Christians – was it ok to purchase and eat this meat? Was it crossing a moral line to partake in something so closely tied to idolatry?

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At first blush, this problem faced by Christian Corinthians two millennia ago seems bizarre. I’ve never been tempted to buy meat in a pagan temple. But taking a step back, we can see how this situation applies to our lives here and now – we, like the people of Corinth, are living in a secular society full of counter-Christian ideologies, norms, perceptions, and perversions. Every day we’re exposed to a culture that conflicts with Jesus’ teachings, forcing believers to continuously measure his Word against what the culture says. So maybe this idolatrous meat scenario is perfectly applicable.

Tying the above passage to our election season makes me think of two things: 1) The First Amendment, and 2) Social Media. Americans are blessed with many freedoms, and one of our most celebrated and debated is the freedom of speech. We can say (pretty much) whatever we want without fear of arrest and imprisonment. But as verse 23 suggests, just because something is lawful doesn’t mean it’s helpful or builds people up.

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Enter social media. Anyone who knows me well can confirm my disdain for it. Not to editorialize overmuch, but I think it’s a breeding ground for vanity, discontentment, and infidelity. But Pew Research says about 70% of Americans use social media, and right now we’re seeing a spike in political hot takes on the ever-growing list of platforms. Our culture is absolutely saturated in election media.

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And like a steak hanging in the temple meat market, we’ll see people’s off-the-wall political opinions posted online, and we’ll be tempted to sink our teeth into them. Maybe we’ll tell ourselves that our carefully crafted rebuttals are only meant to inform or “set the record straight,” but let’s be honest – if our posts don’t help or build up, if they aren’t seeking to point our neighbor to Christ, then maybe we don’t click send. Maybe we put our phones down and address our own pride. Just because we can post doesn’t mean we should post.

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In Butler’s The Party Crasher: How Jesus Disrupts Politics as Usual and Redeems our Partisan Divide, he offers ten political commandments. Number two on his list is “Love of Neighbor: I commit to participating in civic life as a means of loving and serving my neighbor rather than just serving my own interests.” Our 1 Corinthians passage perfectly aligns with this. Think about your purpose. Think about the long game. Will a politically-charged post build up your neighbors and make them more likely to pursue life with Christ? What could a considerate, empathetic post that acknowledges your neighbor as an image-bearer do for the Kingdom?

Dear God, thank you for placing me in a nation that allows open elections and free discussion. Please help me to leverage these for your Kingdom. Give me the wisdom to abstain from muck-raking and mud-slinging. Help me to see humanity in my neighbors and respond in ways that open the door to conversations about you. Give me boldness and humility. I love you. Amen.