Catering to the Weaker Brother

I have been thinking a lot lately about catering to the weaker brother and what that should mean for me as a Christian. I have talked to many different people and read many different things on this topic and the disparity between the views on the subject are sort of shocking to me. If we are taking the bible, and we are reading it, and we are doing it, I think we will know where to stand with regards to the weaker brother.

1 Corinthians 8 and Romans 14:1-15:7 are the main places to look at to learn about the Christian attitude toward a weaker brother. In these passages, this weaker brother is one whose conscience is defiled when they partake in certain activities that they think are wrong although they are not. The main example used in both places is food. If a brother cannot eat certain types of acceptable food (both food sacrificed to idols and formerly unclean foods are acceptable under Christ) without believing he is sinning, he is considered to be the weaker brother.

In this post, I'm not interested in telling the weaker brother what to do. I think he should not violate his conscience, and that he should search the scriptures to gain knowledge, as all Christians should. I am, however, very interested in talking about the responsibilities of the stronger brother, who does not abstain, to his weaker brother. I encourage you to read the entirety of the passages mentioned above, but I want to highlight just a couple verses that I think really drive Paul's point home.

Romans 14:19- So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.

1 Corinthians 8:12, 13- Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.

When we interact with someone who thinks something is sinful that we know to be sanctioned, we need to take one for the team and not do that thing. If we do it, we run the risk of encouraging the weaker brother to also partake and to violate his conscience, and that's a sin. Now, 1 Cor 8:8 tells us that we are no worse or better off for eating foods or doing/not doing whatever approved thing, and Romans 14:3 tells both eaters and non-eaters that they should not pass judgement on one another, but we are supposed to be worrying about ourselves and our salvation (Romans 14:12). Stronger brothers cannot force weaker brothers to feel okay about their actions, but they can abstain from doing the things that offend the weaker brother. If stronger brothers are working for peace and mutual upbuilding, they will abstain from their liberties if need-be. I think that's what the bible teaches.

Maybe I will have more encouragement for weaker brothers on another day.