Today’s Reading is 1 Corinthians 12:21-27
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
So often we lift up people that have gifts that we desire, such as entertainers or athletes. God gave them special talents, but doesn’t want us to idolize them. Why don’t we lift up the homeless person that stands on the street corner waiting for help? They usually own almost nothing, yet survive in a harsh environment. They sleep under bridges or in the woods and might only have the evening paper to keep them warm in the winter. Why don’t we idolize them? Is it because we think they’re lazy? Have we ever taken the time to get to know them and find out what drove them to be homeless? Each of these people are equal and relevant in God’s kingdom. We should not minimize or maximize the importance of any one person or lift up anyone over another.
Seek others that may be hurting more than you. I remember when I was in elementary school I broke my leg. My leg was the ailing limb, but the rest of my body had to step up and pull the load for my broken leg. Once they put the cast on my leg, my arms had to help me walk by bearing the load of my body on crutches. As I used the crutches, my arms started to get stronger and stronger, thus the weak limb actually helped to strengthen other parts of my body. We are called to help others just as my arms had to bear the load for my leg. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard people speak of helping someone in need and in the end they were actually the ones that got the most out of helping.
As we move into a more missional thinking remember this statement, “there should be no division in the body”. As we see a homeless person standing on a street corner, what will it hurt to drop them off a sandwich or a bottle of water or just tell them that God loves them. If someone in your office seems to be hurting or stressed, maybe we need to offer them some love or a listening ear. We should never tear down or destroy a person, but instead we should build them up and help them. I would like for us to try an exercise. Each day when you go to work, school or just out, seek out that one person that rubs you the wrong way and make it a point to tell them good morning and let them know that you’re thinking of them and how nice it is to know them. Who knows, this may become one of your closest friends.
Dave P.