Romans 14:16

Let not your good be evil spoken of: for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

The sin against Christ through lovelessness among Christians is an evil that reaches far beyond the congregation itself, bringing into dishonor and ineffectiveness the missionary outreach of the church, and actually resulting in blasphemy of outsiders against the Christian message. "Your" in this verse is plural, contrasting with the singular pronoun in Romans 14:15, and indicates that Paul here shifted the thought away from the individual consequences of setting at naught and judging the,brethren and directed it to a consideration of the harm to the entire church which resulted from such violations of the principle of unity and love. When Christians are divided and viciously attack each other over such things as clothing, hair styles, dietary habits, etc., outsiders certainly make sport of their Christianity, the Christians themselves furnishing the basis of their deprecations, and thus becoming the principal hindrance of their missionary impact upon their community.

"Joy" here is a subjective condition within the hearts of Christians, and from this it is likely that righteousness and peace are likewise subjective and refer to the righteous behavior and the inward peace of children of God. By contrast, God's kingdom is far more than the privilege of merely eating and drinking what pleases one. The sacred privileges of the kingdom and the blessed fruit of the indwelling Spirit of God are of such surpassing benefit that any adjustment of the strong Christian's behavior to accommodate the conscience of the weak is a trifle indeed. The great concern is not the exercise of liberty in such matters as food and drink, but the holy joy of the sacred communion of the fellowship in Christ.