Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar? Do I mean then that a sacrifice offered to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I don’t want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons. Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy? Are we stronger than he?  (1 Corinthians 10:18-22)

But I thought Paul said it was OK to eat the meat sacrificed to idols.

What gives?

Beloved, Paul makes an important distinction here. He reaffirms that idols are nothing, and so the meat offered to them is nothing. However, that doesn’t mean that the ceremonies are nothing. Just as Christians and Jews who participated in Communion or the Temple worship were pledging themselves to God, the pagans were, in their rituals, pledging themselves to demons. Sure, they called them gods, but we all know what they really were. So, eating meat that you purchased in the meat market was one thing; joining the pagan revelries was quite another.

I’m gonna figure that you aren’t engaging in pagan sacrifice. If you are, we really need to talk. But the message for us is clear: Don’t play with the enemy. Don’t flirt. Don’t see how close to the line you can get. That, Beloved, is a dangerous game, with dangerous prizes.

Happy Wednesday, Beloved