Romans 14:1-8
14 Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong. 2 For instance, one person believes it’s all right to eat anything. But another believer with a sensitive conscience will eat only vegetables. 3 Those who feel free to eat anything must not look down on those who don’t. And those who don’t eat certain foods must not condemn those who do, for God has accepted them. 4 Who are you to condemn someone else’s servants? Their own master will judge whether they stand or fall. And with the Lord’s help, they will stand and receive his approval.
5 In the same way, some think one day is more holy than another day, while others think every day is alike. You should each be fully convinced that whichever day you choose is acceptable. 6 Those who worship the Lord on a special day do it to honor him. Those who eat any kind of food do so to honor the Lord, since they give thanks to God before eating. And those who refuse to eat certain foods also want to please the Lord and give thanks to God. 7 For we don’t live for ourselves or die for ourselves. 8 If we live, it’s to honor the Lord. And if we die, it’s to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.
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I never knew that praying before a meal was in the Bible, but here it is. It’s the way we give thanks for what we are about to eat. The question of what they could and what they could not eat was a big issue for the first readers of this letter. Paul says we can eat anything if we are thankful. He states the principle–that whatever we do we are to do with a thankful heart.
That seems to be the focus in this passage–that we are to have a thankful heart. Paul is saying that honoring the Lord tempers what we do, and what we do is to be done with a thankful heart. I need to be more conscious of having a heart that is thankful in all things.