Romans 15:1

Rules change; principles do not.  This verse is not a rule; it is a principle.  Principles are the basis upon which we form our rules to fit a particular situation.  The situation Paul is writing about involves dissension within the church, about what Christians can and cannot do, as it pertains to observing special days and eating clean or unclean food.  I do not wish to deal with that situation, but rather I want to look at the application of the principle and the way we can apply it to many different situations.

When we look to this principle in the broadest terms, we recognize that all of us are sometimes weak.  Spiritual weakness, just like physical weakness can result from illness or sickness.  It can also result from a failure to exercise our spiritual muscles.  In the same way as a person can be weak in one area of academics and strong in another, a Christian can be strong in one area of their Christian walk and weak in another.  None of us has a monopoly on spiritual strength or spiritual weakness.

It is easy to recognize that a spiritual weakness can cause failings in our Christian walk that affect others.  Christians do not deliberately seek to offend or harm the feelings of others, yet it does happen.  Christians do not deliberately let down someone who is depending upon them, but it happens.  Christians never intentionally miss the mark, however to be honest, at one time or another, we all do.  As we seek to live righteous, we all, at times fail.

At the same time, all of us have experienced what the strong Christian feels like when they are let down.  In every possible scenario, this principle still holds true.  When we are the one who has been hurt, we bear the burden created by another’s weakness, and we do not act to please ourselves.  We do not do this to prove our strength.  We bear with the failings of the weak because we love them.