LISTEN
NASB:
All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.
NIV:
Everything is permissible for me — but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible for me — but I will not be mastered by anything.
Observations:
The apostle Paul is explaining to the Corinthians what the new covenant means. Heretofore, Jews were under restrictions on what they could eat and do.
Paul states twice in the verse that everything is lawful and permissible for him. Obviously, he’s not talking about sinning and breaking God’s law, but he was telling them that the sacrifice and ritual had been done away with by Jesus’ coming.
But the final clause of the verse is crucial. While everything had been opened up as allowable, to be mastered by things of this world (such as food and other indulgences) would be wrong.
Takeaways:
We do not have to sacrifice nor worry about what kinds of food we consume.
However, we should not allow any food or any aspect of this life to become more than it should be. In short, we should not be controlled by anything but God.
