You know the story.  The hare was a lean mean running machine.  The tortoise?  A short legged bulky critter with a heavy shell on his back.  One day, the tortoise, tired of hearing the hare brag all the time, finally said, "Even you can be beaten."  And the challenge was on.  The whole forest showed up to watch the tortoise be humiliated by the speedy hare.  "On your mark, get set, Go!"  They're off, and like lightning the hare leaped into the lead, and stopped just short of the goal line.  He immediately saw tortoise so slow, he could take a nap, so he did it, just because he could.  Then waking up he saw tortoise was only halfway to the finish line.  But the hare decided he might as well have breakfast too, so off he went to munch some cabbage.  And he did it, just because he could.  A carrot here, some cabbage there, a trip to the stream for some water, what harm is there in that?  But all of a sudden he realized tortoise nearing the finish line.  Like a bolt of lightning the hare ran, but he just wasn't fast enough.  The tortoise stretched out his neck and won the race by a nose.

          Some would say that the tortoise won because he just kept plodding away, slow and easy.  But what really made the tortoise the winner was the hare.  He figured he had all the advantages and all the strengths, and that was his downfall.  The hare believed himself to be so strong and fast that he could do as he pleased and still win the race.  And he followed all his wishes just because he could.  This story is meant to help us realize the theme for this sermon, "Just because we can, doesn't mean we should."  "Just because we can, doesn't mean we should."  (Can you say it?)

          We Christians have been given freedom, incredible, glorious freedom.  Think of it!  Jesus has done all that's necessary to gain heaven for us, we don't need to do anything to gain heaven.  So one would think we're free to live as we please, at least in theory.  Since Christ has done it all, that then we're free to do pretty much anything, so long as it doesn't harm ourselves or others, of course.

          The Old Testament teachings had required obedience to the Commandments, but the New Testament teachings did not.  St. Paul and St. Peter taught that salvation comes by faith and not by following rules.  Obedience is voluntary, they said, not compulsory.  The Holy Spirit even helps believers to obey God, but that obedience does not save us.  What a freedom we have!  The Ten Commandments are good because to follow them can help us.  But obedience is not compulsory.  We are free from the Law!  BUT - "Just because we can, doesn't mean we should."

          But not needing to follow rules does not excuse our breaking them.  This is a paradox for Christians.  Being set free from the keeping law does not mean we do as we please.  In Paul's day, the Gentile Christians found this hard to understand, and so do we.  Their society was free-wheeling.  People did as they pleased so long as they didn't break Roman law.  You could be cruel, unethical, overindulgent, own slaves and chase around.  But so long as they didn't break Roman law, they thought they could do as they pleased.  They hadn't learned that "Just because we can, doesn't mean we should."

          In the same way, lots of people today believe that if you can do something, then you should be allowed to.  If it feels good, do it!  If you want to, go ahead!  If you can, then why not?  The attitude seems okay, but it's actually a dangerous one that Paul had to confront among the Gentile Christians.  People of Corinth lived dissolute lives.  Slavery, prostitution and cruelty were everywhere.  If people were allowed to, they did it, no matter how bad it might be for them.  "Food for the stomach and the stomach for food," they said.  If I am allowed to do it, you can be sure I will.

          But when some of them became believers, they had a dilemma.  They knew they were forgiven of their old lives.  They knew they were under the umbrella of God's grace and had a new kind of freedom.  Therefore, some of them believed it was okay to satisfy their cravings.  They said, "Because I can, therefore I will."

          Paul countered that attitude with logic.  Some things are bad for you, he said, and some things offend God or hurt our neighbors.  Too much food and drink can give you unhealthy bodies.  Some things may be okay for you but bad for others.  Just because you can afford something doesn't mean you should buy it.  Just because the donut is there, doesn't mean you should eat it.  You have to balance the activity with the outcome.

          This is also true of all our appetites.  Just because you enjoy shopping doesn't mean shopping can't be abused.  "I can, therefore I will," is the attitude of an affluent society.  The affluent person has the money and can buy it, even if he doesn't need it.  But merely having money doesn't give us the right to spend it unwisely.  We need caution and limits, and God can help us with those also.  We need to ask, "Is this going to help me?  Is this a good way to use what I've been given?"  We might even ask, "What would Jesus do?"

          Corinthian Christians were like us.  They had money and stability.  All kinds of bad things were close at hand, and many acts were legal that shouldn't have been.  Everyone was doing it, so they felt they could, too.  They had to discern what is right by God's standards.

          Many legal acts today go against God's Word, but many acts are not so plain: legal drugs, the internet, excesses can lead to illness and depression.  Even power given to a church worker can be abused.  Just because we can, doesn't mean we should.

          I believe we must seriously question those things of which we are not sure:  Will this help others?  Will it harm them or me?  Will it tempt someone?  Will it separate us from God or from others?  Will it jeopardize our faith?  Jesus once said, "By their fruit you will know them." (Matthew 7:16)   Many actions can be seen for what they are.  But some are unclear and all must be measured by God's standard.  Remember - "Just because we can, doesn't mean we should."

          You and I are children of the Heavenly Father.  He is a loving God who seeks and saves the lost.  His Son, our Lord Jesus, went to the cross for all the sins of the world.  He rose again from the grave to prove He is God's Son.  He truly has done all that's needed for us to gain entrance to eternal life.  All He wants is our faith, our trust in Him.  And God knows that when we truly trust Him, we will seek to do His will, not of compulsion, not from fear, but out of love and awe at the Holy God who gives us life.

          When we were born into this world, God gave us each a great and wonderful chance.  It is a chance to trust the God of the universe and to let Him lead us to eternal life.  Sometimes that trust is a difficult thing.  We want to follow our own leading.  We want to trust our own judgment, and unless we take God into consideration, that isn't always the best thing.  Trust God completely; trust people conditionally.

          Last summer Carol and I visited my sister who invited us to go to where one of her sons was running a Karoake setup.  He has a wonderful voice and it was fun listening to him work the young crowd.  Later on, Eric came up to me and asked whether I would do a special song, one he thought I might like.  The song was "I Did It My Way."  I said it had a great melody, but the image of Elvis and Frank Sinatra singing it has ruined that song for me.  He smiled, went back and sang it masterfully himself.  My point?  Just because I could, didn't mean I should.

          I have struggled with this message all last week, especially while attending a Church Worker's Conference in Breckenridge and being sick the whole time.  While there, we received a phone call from our son and his wife who said the birth mother of their adoptive child is reconsidering keeping the baby.  She is a meth addict and has multiple partners.  Her other three children are all raised by others.

          I want to ask you to pray that the Lord will do what's best for little Micah.  He's still in the hospital and Chuck and Deb would like to adopt him as their own.  I just pray the little guy will get a better chance at life than what seems his birth mother could provide for him.  Thanks for your prayers for God's will, amen.

Copyright © 2005 by Pastor Bob Tasler.  All rights reserved.