Commandments, Convictions and Preferences

 As Christians, we have commandments, convictions and preferences. There are commandments in the Bible which are black and white, and plainly spelled out -- Thou shall not commit adultery, steal, etc. Then there are convictions which we hold that are based on Biblical principles, but are not clearly stated in the Bible. Finally, we have preferences -- which are not based on convictions or commandments, but simply on our personality, likes and dislikes.
 It seems that the convictions and preferences are what give us Christians the most trouble. One person may have a conviction about something, e.g. "Drinking alcohol is a sin" [for them], while another does not. Now, the one who has a conviction about drinking can base this on Biblical principles that talk about honoring God with our body, being living sacrifices, etc.; or because of his personal struggle, or knowing of someone who has struggled, he may not want to be led into temptation or be a stumbling block for someone else. While all this is true, the other is also right when he says that there are no commandments as such, and the Bible talks about excessively drinking alcohol -- not banning it altogether.
 The problem for us Christians is that we do not respect each other. Where we have convictions, we expect all other Christians to have the same, and think they are not mature Christians if they don't. We also often think those with convictions in areas we deem "not important" are pharisitical and narrow-minded. And both think the other is the weaker brother (God has a lot to say about how we respond to the weaker brother and how the strong brother is to use/harness his freedom).
 This makes Christian relationships very interesting and challenging, especially in the church. It takes a lot of prayer, work, and time to develop/maintain unity.
                                -- found in a forum posting