The Weaker and Stronger Brother (part II)
(for the biblical context of this article, read Rom. 14 and 15)
In regards to the whole issue of the weaker and stronger brother, I think that in the end it is the responsibility of the stronger brother to change what is necessary to help the weaker brother, but it's also their responsibility to help the weaker brother to "grow up" so to speak. Now, I don't mean that the stronger brother should be pushy and obnoxious, but the weaker brother is weak for a reason. And once that reason is addressed biblically, it is completely realistic to expect that he will realize that the issue is his own personal struggle (and so not a measure of spirituality for everyone) and/or realize that he doesn't need to be weak in that area. This process can only be done through a great deal of time, effort, and love on both sides of the issue.
The main trouble is that I've seen far too many stronger brothers become frustrated and end up kind of shaming or beating the weaker brother into submission, or at least into silence. And I have been the recipient of this treatment on more than one occasion concerning various issues.
The responsibility of the weaker brother is to realize that just because something is sin to him doesn't mean that it is sin for everyone else. If he can't do it with a clear conscience, then for him to do it would be sin. However, if it is an issue of personal standards rather than direct biblical principle, then the weaker brother should be willing to let the stronger answer to God for what he's doing rather than try to make him conform to some human standard.
I also see a difference between someone who is caused to offend their conscience by an action and someone who is simply "offended" by an action. For example, when I was a child, some friends of mine were not allowed to play with guns, G.I. Joes, or anything like that, but my brothers and I played almost exclusively with military-style toys and games. So when these friends came over to our house, we would put the G.I. Joes in the closet and play with something that wouldn't offend them. They were not caused to sin by what we did; they just didn't want to do it themselves. In cases like this, I won't stop an action (remove it from my life), but I won't do it in front of the other person, nor will I flaunt it. In this sense, the principle of "If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all" (Rom. 12:18 ESV) comes into play.
In regards to the whole issue of the weaker and stronger brother, I think that in the end it is the responsibility of the stronger brother to change what is necessary to help the weaker brother, but it's also their responsibility to help the weaker brother to "grow up" so to speak. Now, I don't mean that the stronger brother should be pushy and obnoxious, but the weaker brother is weak for a reason. And once that reason is addressed biblically, it is completely realistic to expect that he will realize that the issue is his own personal struggle (and so not a measure of spirituality for everyone) and/or realize that he doesn't need to be weak in that area. This process can only be done through a great deal of time, effort, and love on both sides of the issue.
The main trouble is that I've seen far too many stronger brothers become frustrated and end up kind of shaming or beating the weaker brother into submission, or at least into silence. And I have been the recipient of this treatment on more than one occasion concerning various issues.
The responsibility of the weaker brother is to realize that just because something is sin to him doesn't mean that it is sin for everyone else. If he can't do it with a clear conscience, then for him to do it would be sin. However, if it is an issue of personal standards rather than direct biblical principle, then the weaker brother should be willing to let the stronger answer to God for what he's doing rather than try to make him conform to some human standard.
I also see a difference between someone who is caused to offend their conscience by an action and someone who is simply "offended" by an action. For example, when I was a child, some friends of mine were not allowed to play with guns, G.I. Joes, or anything like that, but my brothers and I played almost exclusively with military-style toys and games. So when these friends came over to our house, we would put the G.I. Joes in the closet and play with something that wouldn't offend them. They were not caused to sin by what we did; they just didn't want to do it themselves. In cases like this, I won't stop an action (remove it from my life), but I won't do it in front of the other person, nor will I flaunt it. In this sense, the principle of "If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all" (Rom. 12:18 ESV) comes into play.
posted by Monk at 7:05 PM
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