I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Corinthians 9-11

Paul writes that when he preached to Jews, he lived as a Jew, but when he preached to Gentiles, he lived as a Gentile.  The first part is easy to understand.  When Paul preached to the Jews, he ate kosher and was careful to follow the other traditions which came from the law.    The part about living as a Gentile can be easily misinterpreted.  One could conclude that he took part in their debauchery and religious celebrations.  However, a little later in today’s passage he gives us a clearer picture of how he behaved.  As I noted, when Paul was preaching to Jews, he ate kosher.  However, when he was among the Gentiles he ate whatever was put in front of him.  But, if the person providing the food made a point that it had been sacrificed to idols, and thus made clear to Paul that by eating it he was taking part in a pagan worship practice, he declined to eat.  In the same manner, we should associate with non-believers on a non-judgemental basis.  If someone invites us to a party and we wish to attend, we are free to go and take part.  However, if they were to tell us that the party was so that people could discretely hook up sexually with someone other than their spouse, we should graciously decline.