1 Corinthians 12:21-26 (NIV)
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!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 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, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
A part of the division in the Corinthian Church was coming from the fact that some of the people had decided that their spiritual gift was the most important one. They believed that theirs was the gift that defined true Christians.
This had morphed into the powerful poison of independence. These people exalted themselves and others who shared the same gift to the point that they believe that, while they were indispensable in the life of the church, those with “inferior” gifts were unnecessary.
But Paul shows this to be a lie with a short but clear illustration. As important as an eye is to the body, it needs the rest of the body for support. An eyeball simply laying on the sidewalk is helpless and unable to function. The same is true for a severed head laying on the ground. It is helpless and useless. As important as these body parts all are, they must be supported, supplied and moved by what would be considered “less important,” body parts, or they are worthless.
This leads to Paul’s statement that there should be no division in the body, but that each part should care for and support the others, so that they themselves can be the most effective. The body is a single entity, which means that if one part wins, the victory belongs to the whole body. If one part suffers, the suffering afflicts the entire body–no part is immune or insulated.
Father, all this is all true regardless of whether the divisions in the body are caused by spiritual gifts, status, age, or any other cause. The body is an integrated whole, and no part is worthless or unnecessary. It is interesting to remember that just a few decades ago, doctors preemptively removed “useless” parts of people’s bodies, such as appendices, tonsils, and adenoids, to keep them from causing problems later, when they might become inflamed or diseased. Now we understand that all these are parts of our immune and digestive systems, so doctors don’t routinely remove them unless they become diseased. In the same way, we should never write off someone in the body who has been given “lesser” gifts. In your economy, you gave them those specific gifts because they are necessary for the health and success of the whole body, even if we can’t clearly see why. Help us, Lord, to live and cooperate with each other, loving and supporting ALL the members of your body in light of this great truth. Amen.