Are you familiar with the phrase ‘bread and circuses’? This came from my own era on earth, when the Roman government wanted to distract the people from deep structural problems in society. They did it with affluence and entertainment. Did it succeed? It didn’t prevent the decline and fall of the Roman Empire. Do you see the same principle in effect today? Now you have much more sophisticated versions of affluence and entertainment. My answer is the same as it was long ago. Man does not live by bread alone. I know you need bread, but what else is essential for your life?

Are you a conservative? A liberal? Do these choices flow out of your faith? I have sincere followers in both camps. Do you find it incomprehensible that someone could read the same Bible you do and come to a different conclusion about political ideology? Eating meat offered to idols may not be an active concern for you anymore, but the same principle that each should follow the guidance of his own conscience is enduring and broadly applicable. I have a large family, and even more to the point, a large body.

My word cautions you not to grieve the Spirit. What do you think this means? The most obvious and customary answer is sin, but the Bible deals with sin at great length elsewhere, but what else could it be? Have you been in a meeting that was led by the Spirit? This is obvious to anyone with even a little discernment. Have you ever been in a meeting where the leading of the Spirit was rejected to follow an agenda or maintain control? This is even more obvious to those who have observed both. What could be more grievous to the Spirit than to deny this gentle leading?

Do you think of church as a social event? Most Christians recoil against this idea because the church has been criticized for this from those within as well as those without. But there are social aspects to church. Isn’t this where you go to connect with your friends? There is nothing wrong with this. The problem arises when it becomes an exclusive club, or it has no additional substance. You are called to have fellowship and not forsake the assembling of yourselves together. This satisfies a deep human longing for belonging. What does your church provide beyond this?