Drinking, dancing, dressing

You could use creative tension to start the unit “Live in Unity”. The first lesson is “Consider Others” from Romans 14:1-12. Troy Bush makes it clear that the discussion is about matters where “weakness of faith” is in question, not open rebellion. For example, the Bible is very clear on teaching sexual purity, but not so clear on social drinking (not drunkenness), celebratory dancing, and customary dress. I’d like to know what you think? Do you agree, or not?

To live in impurity is rebellion, but to socially drink, dance in celebration or customarily dress differently than other Christians involves conviction. To illustrate, I recently attended a wedding between two Christians. I was tempted to judge the drinking, dancing and manner of dress by the hosts, but decided breaking fellowship was the wrong course of action. I said nothing since their action did not impact their Christian witness. What would the Holy Spirit have you do?

Start the lesson by introducing controversial topics such as manner of wedding celebration, working hard to “get ahead”, organizational membership, style of music, work on Sunday, going into debt, etc. While opinions may differ, “Should Christian unity be sacrificed because of these differences?” What to do? Answer: “Consider Others”.