Pam Padgett ... teacher
1 Thess. 5:21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
As we live on this earth we hear many ideas and teachings. We need to prove all things. Certainly its important to prove religious doctrines. We have the example of those of Berea doing this:
Acts 17:10 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
We also prove the various worldly teachings we hear. We prove all things by turning to God to know His view, His word, on the matter. And we cling to what we are shown, even when it is different
than our personal preference.
Many years ago I worked with a woman who was a strict vegetarian. She strongly spoke of it being wrong to eat meat since an animal would need to be
killed to provide the meat. Being someone who likes animals very much, what this woman said strongly appealed to my flesh.
But what was God's view of this? Was eating meat wrong in the sight of God?
I turned
to God with this. One of the things I was shown was that God gave the animals for meat, such as when HE instructed Noah and his sons after the flood ...
Genesis 9:1 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be
fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. 2 And the fear of you
and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon
every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all
the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered. 3 Every
moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb
have I given you all things.
It was proved to me that eating meat is not wrong, and God has even provided animals to be meat for us. I couldn't go along with what this woman said.