_THE SACRED USE OF LIBERTY_
"_Take heed lest this liberty of yours becomes a stumbling-block._"
--1 CORINTHIANS viii. 8-13.
That is a very solemn warning. My liberty may trip someone into bondage.
If life were an affair of one my liberty might be wholesome; but it is an
affair of many, and my liberty may be destructive to my fellows. I am not
only responsible for my life, but for its influence. When a thing has been
lived there is still the example to deal with. If orange peel be thrown
upon the pavement, that is not the end of the feast. The man who slips
over the peel is a factor in the incident, and my responsibility covers
him.
I am, therefore, to consider both my deeds and their influence. How does
my life trend when it touches my brother? In what way does he move because
of the impact of my example? Towards liberty or towards license? To the
swamps of transgression or to the fields of holiness? These are
determining questions, and I must not seek to escape or ignore them. My
brother is a vital part of my life. I must never shut him out of my sight.
How is he influenced by my example? "If meat make my brother to stumble, I
will eat no flesh while the world standeth."