For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.
The verse sets out a contrast in conviction about food, with one person believing all things may be eaten and another, called weak, eating herbs. Such differing convictions among believers about what may be eaten are legitimate. Bodies themselves differ, so not all can eat the same things, for food that is palatable and wholesome to one may be distasteful and even harmful to another. Some cannot use milk while others thrive on it, some cannot digest peas and beans while others find them wholesome, and coarser grain preparations are good food for some while others cannot use them.
There is therefore common sense in diet reform, which is to be studied broadly and deeply. No unvarying rule can regulate everyone's habits, and no one person is to be made a criterion for all. These differences give no ground for criticizing others. They should not cause disturbance or disunion, and each person should be allowed to follow conscientious conviction even when others do not share it.
Differences of understanding and practice call for self-control, forbearance, and sympathy, since people's experiences, duties, and judgments are not alike. The same principle requires tenderness and respect toward differences of conscience, extending even to treating conscientious Sabbath-keepers with the same tenderness and respect as other patients.
The verse sets out a contrast in conviction about food, with one person believing all things may be eaten and another, called weak, eating herbs. Such differing convictions among believers about what may be eaten are legitimate. Bodies themselves differ, so not all can eat the same things, for food that is palatable and wholesome to one may be distasteful and even harmful to another. Some cannot use milk while others thrive on it, some cannot digest peas and beans while others find them wholesome, and coarser grain preparations are good food for some while others cannot use them.
There is therefore common sense in diet reform, which is to be studied broadly and deeply. No unvarying rule can regulate everyone's habits, and no one person is to be made a criterion for all. These differences give no ground for criticizing others. They should not cause disturbance or disunion, and each person should be allowed to follow conscientious conviction even when others do not share it.
Differences of understanding and practice call for self-control, forbearance, and sympathy, since people's experiences, duties, and judgments are not alike. The same principle requires tenderness and respect toward differences of conscience, extending even to treating conscientious Sabbath-keepers with the same tenderness and respect as other patients.