What Will Bring About Peace?

The controversy continues to rage – should the government require everyone to be vaccinated, or is it going against one’s fundamental rights? What is the right decision? More importantly, which decision will bring about peace over this question?

As has often been said, there is nothing new under the sun. The Apostle Paul was caught in the middle of a controversy in the Corinthian church. It did not involve vaccines, instead it involved meat:

¹² And when you sin against other believers by encouraging them to do something they believe is wrong, you are sinning against Christ. ¹³ So if what I eat causes another believer to sin, I will never eat meat again as long as I live—for I don’t want to cause another believer to stumble. 1 Corinthians 8:12-13 (NLT)

Offering meat to idols was a common practice among those who served many gods. As a believer, worshipping only one God, it would be considered a violation of conscience to eat meat offered to idols. The Apostle Paul was caught in the controversy; and the question was posed, what should you do, if you ended up eating meat that had been offered to idols.

With the wisdom of God, Paul issued a declaration stating that if you go to someone’s house and they serve meat that had been offered to idols, unbeknownst to you, then continue to eat it. After all, as a believer you know that there is no special something that happens to the meat. However, for the sake of the person’s present, if you know that the meat has been offered to idols, decline the meat, not because of the meat but because of offending those present at the dinner.

In the above passage of scripture, Paul lets us know that if eating meat causes someone to stumble or sin (because of offense), he would rather not eat meat as long as he lived, then to cause someone to stumble.

Shouldn’t it be that way with the vaccine? Shouldn’t every person be guided by their own conscience? However, if they knowingly have symptoms of covid, or even if they don’t, if they are willing to be tested on a regular basis, should they not have that liberty? In fact, since there are increasing numbers of vaccinated people getting covid, should everyone be required to get regular check-ins? Maybe you just got a check in your spirit, because you already got the vaccine? Do you see how this thing works? Whatever category you fall in, in a moment of time you can get offense if you think someone is violating your right?

I don’t have an answer to this raging controversy, except to say that every person should have the right to follow their conscience and with that every person should accept the responsibility for their decision. We live in a world with other people and our rights end when they infringe on the rights of other people. Each of us have to work toward the liberty and freedom of all!

Maria