Knowledge puffs

1 Corinthians 8:1-13

                While I encourage everyone to read this entire passage ( including myslef ), I had difficulty getting past the first line as if it was beckoning me. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. Pretty neat.

                 I have come across a few people in my life for whom science is their god. Perhaps on some level there is truth to that. I have known still others that say that science actually drives their faith in God deeper. There can be an arrogance in knowledge and as example I am speaking scientific knowledge. In one of Dan Brown's book they issue of a 'God particle' ( physics ) is raised. As if a more intense amount of knowledge could dismiss or explain creation. Well, what about before the Big Bang? The more you know, it seems the more you do not know. The more intense the knowledge we achieve, the more mystical and awe inspiring God is. There is always more to know and more questions. I believe science and God do go hand in hand. 

           But the real 'guts' of God so to speak is love. Knowledge as I noted several days ago, is fleeting. Knowledge can produce an arrogance. You can gain a certain amount of knowledge and stop asking questions, you may think you have all the answers. Still others fear knowledge because it may explain it all and then where would God be?  God is beyond our comprehension, we will never know it all. I sometimes speak of an 'aha' moment when we die when we will gain insight into a great many questions we may have had in life. Truth be told, the aha, may be more of knowing it was all unimportant except for one thing, love.

          The real guts of God, the 'thing' that matters and triumphs over all is love. The 'fuel' to the engine of God, to the engine of creation, is love. Love is all, love conquers all, love is the answer. I will not go into different types of love, the maturity of love or a dissertation on love. God gave us rules to help guide us. Jesus clarified that by his becoming human, by his actions and by synthesizing the rules (commandments) into the two great commandments. What makes it all work, the word that describes Jesus' life, that guides the implementation and awareness of the 'rules' is love. Love is our guiding force.
Love is where Jesus was. Love is where Jesus is. Love is where Jesus will always be sitting at the right hand of God.

       I could come to the conclusion that I am smarter than some with my 20+ years of Catholic school, a masters degree in theology and numerous other religious offerings and retreats. If I have not love, it is all for naught.

        Someone who loves trumps any knowledge I might have, that anyone has. Because Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. 

Now concerning food sacrificed to idols: we know that ‘all of us possess knowledge.’ Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. Anyone who claims to know something does not yet have the necessary knowledge; but anyone who loves God is known by him.

Hence, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that ‘no idol in the world really exists’, and that ‘there is no God but one.’ Indeed, even though there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as in fact there are many gods and many lords— yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

It is not everyone, however, who has this knowledge. Since some have become so accustomed to idols until now, they still think of the food they eat as food offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. ‘Food will not bring us close to God.’ We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling-block to the weak. For if others see you, who possess knowledge, eating in the temple of an idol, might they not, since their conscience is weak, be encouraged to the point of eating food sacrificed to idols? So by your knowledge those weak believers for whom Christ died are destroyed. But when you thus sin against members of your family, and wound their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food is a cause of their falling, I will never eat meat, so that I may not cause one of them to fall.