Don’t Be A Stumbling Block

Posted by Melissa

I love to watch buildings get demolished. It’s very exciting! You can sit and watch a building being built for an entire day, and the building site will basically look the same at the end of the day as it did that morning. But when a demolition crew takes down a building, it happens fast!

Read Romans 14:13-18. Focus on verse 13.

Describe the stumbling blocks referred to in the text. Can you think of other stumbling blocks?

What does the Bible say that people should stumble over? (Hint: See 1 Cor. 1:23.)

How has someone been a stumbling block to you in your journey of faith? How have you been a stumbling block to someone else? Explain.

Why is it a problem if you know something you’re doing is keeping others from growing in their faith and you choose to keep doing it?

Whom are we serving when we avoid doing something we feel is acceptable before God in order to not be a stumbling block for others? Explain.

I don’t know why I like to watch things being demolished, but I do know that watching lives get demolished is no fun at all. Just like a building, a life can get demolished in a hurry. A careless comment here, a thoughtless remark there, or a “helpful” criticism every so often, and friendships that took years to build can fall apart in an instant. When you are tempted to exercise your “gift” of criticism, don’t. Our task as believers is to encourage and edify each other, not tear each other down. Believe it or not, your criticism can become a stumbling block in another believer’s life that causes his or her spiritual growth to stall or even stop. Don’t spend your time and your words creating pitfalls for other believers. Encourage and speak the truth in love when the Spirit leads you!

Posted in Devotions, Girls | Tagged Camp Crestridge, Reprinted from ec magazine. © 2011 LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. Used by permission., Romans 14