It Just Doesn’t Matter!

“The Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or what we drink, but of living a life of goodness, and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 13:9-10)

Food For Thought: I have a confession to make, so I hope you will extend me some grace…a lot of grace. So here goes: I like really stupid movies. I won’t name any so as not to endorse them, but let me just say that these kinds of movies are really “dumb and dumber”, if you get my drift. I’m a sucker for slapstick comedy…sophomoric humor. My wife doesn’t get why I like these kinds of flicks…but there is just something about the humor that provides a mental vacation from the otherwise serious life I live.

So in one of these dumb movies—it’s an old one that you wouldn’t be familiar with—there’s a great line that I think is really theologically profound. A camp counselor is trying to pull his team of young boys out of the mullygrubs. I mean, these guys are depressed! They’re down on the camp; they don’t like the activities, they think the competition stinks, and they hate the food! And what are they doing about it? They’re griping, they’re moaning, and they’re complaining. So the counselor says to these guys that all these things they hate about the camp really don’t matter in the larger scheme of things. And as he’s laying this truth on them, he gets them to chant, “it just doesn’t matter…it just doesn’t matter…it just doesn’t matter.” And before you know it, the cafeteria is rocking with this sing-song chant that now, all the boys are chanting: “It just doesn’t matter…”

That’s it…that’s the profound theological truth that I wrested from this film:

“It just doesn’t matter!”

Why don’t you try it? Just says it ten times…slowly at first, get the cadence down, and let it roll until it begins to sink into your soul.

There is something to that line, and it has tremendous value to the Christian life. You see, most of the things we get uptight about, particularly as it relates to how other Christians are living out their faith, really don’t matter in the larger scheme of how the Kingdom of God is fleshed out. It just doesn’t matter if some believers drink wine, but you don’t; or play cards or put a dollar down on the lottery, or go to movies or dance socially, or you name it (and believe me, those things and more than I have time to name—they will upset some Christians). It doesn’t matter if some Christians wave flags when they worship or go to church on Friday night or give their offerings online rather than in the plate or serve white grape juice for communion or whatever, whatever…

That’s what Paul is really teaching in this 14th chapter of Romans, which by the way, is a great chapter, so I hope you will sit down and read all 23 of its verses a couple of times through.

Certain of the Roman Christians in Paul’s day were getting uptight with other believers, because they weren’t living out their faith the way these Roman church members were. In that day, the issue had to do with certain foods that the church felt was inappropriate to eat—meat versus a vegetarian diet. The big deal about the meat was that before it had been purchased, it had likely been sacrificed to an idol before it got to market, and that was a concern to the non-meat eating believers. Another issue had to do with what day they believed was the correct day to gather for worship. Most likely, some thought that Saturday, the Sabbath, was the correct day, while some preferred Sunday worship service. And these issues were a big deal for some in the church, and it was causing some hard feelings if not outright disharmony.

So Paul says, “look gang, what foods you eat or don’t eat and what day your worship on just doesn’t matter in the bigger picture. You are free to do what you want so long as your bottom line motivation in life is to bring honor to the Lord.” Notice these words,

“For we don’t live for ourselves of die for ourselves. If we live, it is to honor the Lord. And if we die, it is to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. (Romans 14:7-8)

I hope you’ll think about that and adopt that as your rule of life. If your bottom line is to bring honor to the Lord, then nothing else really matters. Do what you want…eat what you want…drink what you want…worship when you want and in the way you want—as long as your motive is to glorify the Lord. That’s why Paul went on to remind these believers that “the Kingdom of God is not a matter of meat or drink, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

Now Paul gives a couple of caveats to this principle. One, if you cause a weaker brother or sister to stumble by deliberately doing certain things that offend their conscience, then you’ve missed the point. You are not glorifying God. You are unnecessarily creating disharmony…and harmony in the family of God is a big deal, a very big deal, to the Lord. And two, if you take advantage of this liberty in Christ to do something that your own conscience tells you not to do, then you have crossed over into sin. So don’t go hog-wild with this “it just doesn’t’ matter” principle.

Bottom line, most of the stuff that we struggle with in the Christian life just doesn’t matter. Just do everything to honor God, and you will be okay. As St. Augustine said, “Just love God, and do what you want.”

So having said all that, go enjoy yourself!

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the amazing freedom you have given me to enjoy life. Since you have blessed me with such a gift—the gift of Christian liberty—I want to dedicate it back to you in the form of a life lived to glorify you, even in the minute details. I want that to be the rule of my life—to glorify you in all things. May that be the one and only thing that matters.

One more thing… “To many, total abstinence is easier than perfect moderation.” —St. Augustine