“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive.
1 Corinthians 10:23 NIV
Beneficial
There are many benefits to living in Canada. We live a long time: Canadians born today will live an average of two years longer than the global average. Meanwhile, 89% of Canadians reported being in good health, 20% above the average world-wide. You can grow old here comfortably: Canada was ranked 5th best out of 91 countries for elderly treatment, ahead of Switzerland, New Zealand and the U.S. Canadian retirees are the happiest in the world, second only to those in Mexico.
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We all have been guilty of doing something that we thought would be helpful that made a situation worse. Most of the time that is harmless – and we say, “Well, that didn’t help! But when it comes to more serious matters, we who follow Jesus must be careful to ensure our actions bring benefit to others. The apostle Paul writes this in 1 Corinthians 10:23: “‘I have the right to do anything,’ you say – but not everything is beneficial. ‘I have the right to do anything’– but not everything is constructive.” Every one of us is an influencer – our actions impact others. How we live our lives brings either encouragement or discouragement to our brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ. Before we do something, we should ask “is this going to bring blessing to someone else, or could it harm them in some way?” We do not live our lives in a bubble – we live in human families and within our church family. Determine today that everything you say and do will encourage others, helping them to walk more closely with the Lord and not draw them away from Jesus. Our actions should be beneficial to others.
These have been words from the heart.
Bob Beasley