together with
Happy Tuesday, {{first_name| everyone}}!
If you caught yesterday's email, you know we're spending this week with one of the most deceptively simple verses in the New Testament.
I say "deceptively simple" because on the surface, it sounds like a nice bumper sticker: Do everything for God's glory.
But something more is happening…excited to continue unpacking it today!
In today’s email…
🧠 Your first round of blanks (it begins!)
🍖 What the Corinthian meat market teaches us about faith and culture
📊 A trivia question to test your knowledge..
MEMORIZE 🧠
So, whether you ___ or _____, or whatever you do, do ___ to the _____ of ___.
1 Corinthians 10:31
CONTEXT 📕
Imagine you're a brand-new Christian in Corinth.
You gave your life to Jesus after hearing Paul preach. Your whole world has shifted. But tomorrow morning, you still have to go to the market and feed your family.
Imagine the problem: Almost all the meat in Corinth has been through a pagan temple.
The macellum (the central meat market) was directly connected to the temple system. Animals were sacrificed to Greek gods like Apollo, Aphrodite, or Poseidon, and after the ritual, the leftover meat was sold to the public.
It was essentially their grocery store. There wasn't a "secular" section and a "temple" section. It was all mixed together.
The site of an ancient macellum
So you're standing in the market, looking at a cut of meat, and you're wondering: If I buy this, am I participating in idol worship?
But it gets more complicated.
Your boss invites you to a dinner party….at the temple of Apollo. Which was a totally normal thing back then. Temple dining rooms were basically the restaurants of the ancient world.
Business deals happened there. Social connections were made there. Turning down the invitation could cost you your livelihood. But accepting it means reclining at a table in a room dedicated to a false god.
What do you do?
This is the exact tension Paul is addressing. And the Corinthian church was divided. Some believers said, "Idols aren't real, so who cares? Eat whatever you want." Others were horrified — they couldn't separate the meat from the idol. For them, eating it felt like a betrayal of their new faith.
Paul's answer?
Both sides have a point, but both sides are missing something.
Knowledge says the idol is nothing:
4 Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one.”
But love says your brother's conscience matters more than your freedom:
9 But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol's temple, will he not be encouraged, if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols?
11 And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. 12 Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.
And above both knowledge and love sits this: the glory of God.
Which is why verse 31 is so powerful.
31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
Paul doesn't give them a meat-eating rulebook. He gives them a lens through which to view every situation: Does this bring glory to God?
Not "Is this technically allowed?" or “What’s the right answer?” or "Can I get away with this?"
Rather: “Does this honor Him?”
That question works at a Corinthian meat market then.
And it works at your office today or your dinner table tonight.
TOGETHER WITH AXIS
If you’re a parent like me, your #1 priority is raising children who follow Jesus.
And now, more than ever, there are countless things competing for our kids’ hearts and attention.
That’s why my wife and I personally love Axis. They’re a ministry that creates (free) resources to help parents disciple their kids in everyday moments. My favorite resource (by far) is their weekly newsletter called The Culture Translator.
Their team spends hours researching the music, movies, TV shows, and social media trends impacting your kid's world. Then they translate it for parents and give you simple conversation starters to help you grow closer to your kids and guide them to gospel truth.
The best part? It’s completely free. Click here to join us and over 500,000 Christian parents!
APPLY AND RESPOND 🏃♂
Read 1 Corinthians 10. If you’re able, read it out loud and envision Paul speaking this to a real group of early Jesus-following people he cares deeply about.
Think about a "gray area" in your own life. Can you think of something that isn't clearly right or wrong, but you're not sure about? Instead of asking, "Is this allowed?" try asking, "Does this bring glory to God?" Notice how the question shifts the whole framework.
Consider who's watching. Paul's big concern wasn't just personal purity, it was the impact on others. Is there something you have the freedom to do, but someone in your life might stumble over? Love might look like laying that freedom down for a season.
23 “All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. 24 Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.
Speak our memory verse out loud three times. This is a great verse to use as a simple prayer during everyday situations.
🙏 Pray
Father, thank You for a faith that doesn't just give us rules, but gives us a lens. Help me to start asking "How can this moment glorify You?" Give me wisdom in the gray areas of life. And help these words take root in my heart this week. Amen.
TRIVIA 📊
Click one of the answers below. Let’s see how you do…
What was the primary issue Paul was addressing in the chapters leading up to 1 Corinthians 10:31?
ANSWER KEY ✅
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
Proverbs 18:10
Best,
The Malachi Daily team 🙏
Today’s Contributors
Payton is a husband and father in Vero Beach, FL. He serves as the Email Marketing Manager at Faith Driven Entrepreneur and helps Christians master storytelling through his newsletter, Christian Story Lab.
Kieran is a husband and father living in NJ. In addition to Malachi Daily, he writes a personal newsletter about the intersection of faith, fatherhood and entrepreneurship.
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