Love Reins Us In 爱的约束

[Dexu Xia]

It is better not to . . . do anything . . . that will cause your brother or sister to fall. Romans 14:21

Most young Samoan boys receive a tattoo signaling their responsibility to their people and their chief. Naturally, then, the marks cover the arms of the Samoan men’s rugby team members. Traveling to Japan where tattoos can carry negative connotations, the teammates realized their symbols presented a problem for their hosts. In a generous act of friendship, the Samoans wore skin-colored sleeves covering the designs. “We’re respectful and mindful to . . . the Japanese way,” the team captain explained. “We’ll be making sure that what we’re showing will be okay.”

In an age emphasizing individual expression, it’s remarkable to encounter self-limitation—a concept Paul wrote about in the book of Romans. He told us that love sometimes requires us to lay down our rights for others. Rather than pushing our freedom to the boundaries, sometimes love reins us in. The apostle explained how some people in the church believed they were free “to eat anything,” but others ate “only vegetables” (Romans 14:2). While this might seem like a minor issue, in the first century, adherence to Old Testament dietary laws was controversial. Paul instructed everyone to “stop passing judgment on one another” (v. 13), before concluding with particular words for those who ate freely. “It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall” (v. 21).

At times, loving another means limiting our own freedoms. We don’t have to always do everything we’re free to do. Sometimes love reins us in.

When have you seen people limit their freedom for the sake of other believers in Jesus? What was that like? What’s difficult about those situations where love reins us in?

God, help me to see where I need to encourage others to experience freedom and how I need to limit how I use my own freedoms.

无论是⋯⋯什么别的事，叫弟兄跌倒，一概不做才好。—罗马书14章21节

萨摩亚族的年轻男孩大多都会纹身，象征他们对族人与酋长的责任。因此，萨摩亚男子橄榄球队队员的手臂上也刺满了花纹。当这些球员前往日本时，他们意识到身上的图纹可能会给接待的主人带来困扰，因为在日本，刺青带有负面的含义。于是，他们穿戴了肤色袖套以遮盖图纹，表现了宽宏的友好态度。他们的队长说：“我们尊重与留意日本人的想法和习惯，确保我们的表现和举止都没问题。”

在强调自我表现的时代，最难能可贵的就是自我约束，这观念也是保罗在罗马书提到的。他说，有时我们要因爱的缘故而放下自己的权利；爱不是要我们享受最大的自由，而有时是要我们约束自己。使徒保罗解释，教会中有些人相信“百物都可吃”，但有些人“只吃蔬菜”（罗马书14章2节）。虽然这似乎是细枝末节，但在第一世纪时，如何持守旧约的饮食律法却引发争议。保罗先教导大家“不可再彼此论断”（13节），接着才对那些吃喝都自由的人说：“无论是吃肉，是喝酒，是什么别的事，叫弟兄跌倒，一概不做才好。”（21节）

有时候，爱别人意味着限制我们自己的自由。我们可以自由去做的事，不见得都要去做。有时爱就是自我约束。

你曾看过谁为了别的基督徒而限制自己的自由？
那是什么情况？要为了爱而自我约束有什么困难呢？

上帝啊，求祢帮助我，
看见自己在哪些方面需要自我约束，
在哪方面可以鼓励别人去经历自由。