Do you a “know-it-all?” Does it frustrate you to no end that they always think they know the answer? Have you purposely tried to trip them up? Were you successful? Do you come across to others as a “know-it-all?” Do you know that no one knows everything?
We all have encountered someone who thinks they know everything. They give us advice that simply isn’t sound or perhaps completely wrong. They answer questions with full confidence but are wrong. Oh, they know a lot, but not everything.
I know that I have come across as though I have all the answers at times. Or, I have made others feel inferior because of the way I answer or provide advice. I believe we all do at times. Yet, that is not how we should be. Whether we admit it or not, we know we do not know everything. No one can!
The Apostle Paul tells the Corinthian church that if they think they know something, they do not know what they need to know. He was talking to them about their behavior. They claimed to know there is one God and anything associated with idols had no effect on them. Though they were technically correct, their actions based on their knowledge could cause someone else to stumble.
I wonder how many times my actions have been the reason for someone else to stumble. Have I done something in the freedom I have in Christ that someone else considers to be a sin and they do the same thing, therefore sinning in their own mind? It is a question each of us should wrestle with. We have a lot of freedom in Christ. Yet, we are not to use that freedom to cause someone else to stumble. You see, the closer we are with God, the more we see our freedoms. We simply should not use them incorrectly.
I pray we all grow closer to God. I pray we recognize the freedom we have in Christ. I pray each one of us will use our freedom wisely, not causing others to stumble. Grow closer to God. Recognize your freedom. Use your freedom wisely. Do not cause others to stumble.
1 Corinthians 8:2-3 Anyone who claims to know something does not yet have the necessary knowledge; but anyone who loves God is known by him.
Marty Pressey 