One day, a number of years ago, I woke up with severe dizziness. As I sat up, the room was spinning, making me feel nauseous. Later, I found out that the cause of this dizziness was because my “ear rocks”, or otoconia, had gotten out of position. I had never heard of ear rocks before, and perhaps you haven’t either. I learned all about them, tiny crystals of calcium carbonate in the canals of the ear, and the maneuvers you can do to get them back where they belong. Tiny little parts of the human body that most people don’t even know they have, but when they aren’t functioning properly, the body sure lets you know. In our Scripture for today, the Apostle Paul speaks about how the Church is like a body, when all of its parts are functioning properly. Let’s take a look at what the Lord has to say in His Word.
The Christian church in the city of Corinth was a large one, and could do much work for the Lord in that busy pagan metropolis. However, this local church often had to deal with problems among its members. One problem that Paul needed to confront was how many of the believers in Corinth thought that their spiritual gifts and abilities were superior to those of others. They felt that they were more important, and looked down on other members of the congregation. This spiritual snobbery was getting to the point where it was causing major problems among the Corinthians.
As the Apostle Paul opens this passage, he compares the Christian believers, who are part of the Body of Christ, to a human body. Each part of the body has a specific function that is necessary to the body as a whole. The parts are different for a purpose, yet they are to work together. In order to function at its optimum level, the body needs each of its parts. Often we only think about certain body parts, those whose function is most noticeable, such as our hands, heart, stomach, eyes, etc. That doesn’t mean that the other parts are not necessary. When something goes wrong with a less noticeable part, though, we find out, just as I did when my otoconia were not in their correct position.
Paul wanted to correct the behavior of some of the Corinthian believers, those who thought that their spiritual gifts were better, more important, and more valuable than others. They thought they were the hands, the eyes, or the head, something that people notice and use every day. But, as Paul showed, just as one part of the body, such as the hands, does not say to the feet that they don’t need them, so too one believer is not to say to someone else that they do not need them in the church.
The Church is composed of many types of people from a variety of backgrounds, with a multitude of gifts and abilities. We may have different interests and gifts, but we have one common faith and goal. Though we may have different backgrounds, gifts, and personalities, we are each filled with the same Spirit, and belong to the same Body of Christ. There should never be anyone in the church who looks down on those who may seem to them to be unimportant. In the same token, we should also never be jealous of others who have what seems to be more impressive gifts.
All parts of the body, whether our human body or the Church play an important part, without which there would be serious repercussions. God has designed visible, public gifts to have a crucial place, but equally designed and just as equally vital to life are the hidden gifts. All are essential to the Body of Christ. Every Christian plays an important role, and each of us is necessary.
Just as you wouldn’t want a part of your body cut off or yanked out, so too you should not look down on a fellow Christian, deeming them unnecessary for your fellowship. Some church members are out in the open with their gifts, and are like the eyes, the hair, the arms. Some of us, though, are more hidden, like the otoconia. As I could attest to that one morning, when the otoconia was not working right, I sure noticed! Let’s be sure that we care for each member of the Body of Christ equally.
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