Twin City church of Christ Blog
“May 3, 2024 - Division Through Insecurity”
Categories: 2024 Reading DevotionalsDivision Through Insecurity
Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:12-20
In a body, many separate members work together as one unit. This is also Paul’s vision of the local church. “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit”(1 Cor 12:13). Thinking of the group as a singular unit helps us downplay the differences between us and focus our attention on the unique way we can contribute. We learn to stay in our lane. Just as the various parts of the body work together, contributing unique functions for the good of the whole body, so we each exercise our own gifts and blend them together as one. The danger is that as we look at the gifts and work of others, we begin to question our own value.
Paul illustrates this with the comical image of body parts talking to one another. “If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ that would not make it any less a part of the body”(1 Cor 12:15). Some of the Corinthians observe other, seemingly more impressive Christians—the “hands” and “eyes”—and then feel insecure in their own gifts. They begin to feel that they “do not belong to the body.” Yet Paul protests, “If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose”(1 Cor 12:17-18). Each part matters and adds something vital. My gifts are from God and he made me “as he chose.”
Insecurity can lead to division. Feelings of inadequacy can extend to the spiritual realm. We feel unappreciated and grow jealous and bitter. It is important that we hear God’s affirmation of our usefulness and uniqueness so that we remain unified and the body functions as he intends.
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One Thing to Think About: Why do I feel the need to compare myself to others?
One Thing to Pray For: A strong sense of my value to God and his work
