Paul was writing to believers who lived among nonbelievers. Think about the difference between preaching to the already converted and teaching those who really don't have a good idea about just what it is that sets us apart.
In his time, if you wanted to eat meat, you got it from the meat place, and the meat place didn't stamp it "not from idol sacrifice." If you accepted an invitation for supper, you would not know whether that meat fit your religious scruples.
Should you refuse to eat with people who had different standards?
On the other hand, if your own religion is strong enough not to be hampered in any way by some practice that you consider a scruple, shouldn't you just go ahead and to what's easiest on everybody?
It's not just the unbelievers that see what you do; the believers are watching, too.
Paul says to them (to us?): It's not only your conscience; think about how what you do will affect someone else's conscience.
How this passage intrudes on my own life: I stay out of casinos. I am opposed to state lotteries.
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