[After all] the kingdom of God is not a matter of [getting the] food and drink [one likes], but instead it is righteousness (that state which makes a person acceptable to God) and [heart] peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. – Romans 14:17, Amplified Bible (AMP)

The Bible is clear that we are to love our neighbors as ourselves. When asked, “Who is my neighbor?”, Christ responded with the parable of the Good Samaritan. Being a Good Samaritan, like the parable demonstrates, definitely includes caring for the physical needs of others. But, what we often forget is that being a good neighbor also includes caring for the spiritual needs of others.

In Romans 14, there were those in the church who were adamant about their Christian liberty. Desiring to eat whatever they wanted, they consumed whatever foods they wished without regard for the impact of their actions on others. As the passage indicates, however, there were others who were being negatively impacted by such actions: weaker converts who were of the opinion that certain foods were unlawful to eat.

As God, through Paul, states in the following verses, we should abstain (at least publicly) from engaging in those practices that could cause weaker brethren to stumble in the faith. According to Romans 14 (AMP):

¹⁴ I know and am convinced (persuaded) as one in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is [forbidden as] essentially unclean (defiled and unholy in itself). But [none the less] it is unclean (defiled and unholy) to anyone who thinks it is unclean.

¹⁵ But if your brother is being pained or his feelings hurt or if he is being injured by what you eat, [then] you are no longer walking in love. [You have ceased to be living and conducting yourself by the standard of love toward him.] Do not let what you eat hurt or cause the ruin of one for whom Christ died!

¹⁶ Do not therefore let what seems good to you be considered an evil thing [by someone else]. [In other words, do not give occasion for others to criticize that which is justifiable for you.]

¹⁷ [After all] the kingdom of God is not a matter of [getting the] food and drink [one likes], but instead it is righteousness (that state which makes a person acceptable to God) and [heart] peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

²⁰ You must not, for the sake of food, undo and break down and destroy the work of God! Everything is indeed [ceremonially] clean and pure, but it is wrong for anyone to hurt the conscience of others or to make them fall by what he eats.

²¹ The right thing is to eat no meat or drink no wine [at all], or [do anything else] if it makes your brother stumble or hurts his conscience or offends or weakens him.

²² Your personal convictions [on such matters]—exercise [them] as in God’s presence, keeping them to yourself [striving only to know the truth and obey His will]. Blessed (happy, to be envied) is he who has no reason to judge himself for what he approves [who does not convict himself by what he chooses to do].

²³ But the man who has doubts (misgivings, an uneasy conscience) about eating, and then eats [perhaps because of you], stands condemned [before God], because he is not true to his convictions and he does not act from faith. For whatever does not originate and proceed from faith is sin [whatever is done without a conviction of its approval by God is sinful].

Loving our neighbors as ourselves can be quite inconvenient, mainly because doing so usually requires altering our behavior in a way that benefits others more than it benefits ourselves. However, this is the very mode of living that Christ modeled for us, and it is the way of life that God expects of us.

The next time you understand that something you are doing is offending a weaker brother (or sister), consider Romans 14. Be careful not to cause your weaker brethren to stumble by living out your convictions in public. Rather, live out your convictions in private, keeping your Christian liberty between you and God, and showing God that you indeed love your neighbor enough to value his (or her) spiritual needs as much as you value your own.