The human
body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. 1
Corinthians 12:12a
The eye can
never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need
you.” 1 Corinthians 12:21
If one part
suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the
parts are glad. 1 Corinthians 12:26
It
is all so very connected; politics, religion, love, sex, money, breathing, or
anything else you care to name. The muse
for this post is from a Facebook post of a friend, the pictured Native American’s
wisdom about wings of the bird as part of the same body. Of course, the older source would be Paul’s
letter to the Corinthian church. We are,
indeed, the body, albeit connected in some very strange ways. Yup...that same crazy bird in the middle is us…humanity.
We are an incredibly complex dodo bird! And we need every part!
What plucks
this analogy string so annoyingly resonant, today, is this time of year in a
quadrennial political season. Pandemic
notwithstanding, the political push has been quieter, but lurking,
nonetheless. It seems to have ramped up
lately, as the push toward November elections draws near.
With limited
space, and a huge subject (especially for a 5-minute devotional), let me get right
to the point:
If we are so connected, how can we think anyone
is useless?
Yet, you
hear it every day:
· Republicans think Democrats belong in
recycling.
· Democrats demonize Republicans.
· With every mention of, or sighting of Black
Lives Matter, the Blue, White, Red, Asian, Gender-specific, Straight,
or Whatever Lives cry for equal time.
Preferential
treatment, by definition, places one person’s value over another’s.
And here’s
the rub, in any arena, with any part of the analogy you care to push:
Wings on the same bird were designed by our
Creator to balance each other, to support each other, and keep us moving along,
soaring, going higher.
But, when the wings on that bird are so busy swatting
each other, that bird is going down!
From a
Christian perspective, with all the backing of Holy Scripture to strengthen
that previous statement, and empower the church to live it, even with the power
to shame us into living it, we still can’t get it right. Traditional-thinking Christians demonize
Progressive-leaning Christians…and the blessing is returned. And we get better at swatting each other as
time passes.
What a
pitiful example of Christ’s love!
If you’re of
age, and inclination, this November you’ll cast a vote. The election will be over, there will be a
President. Four years later (if the
eagle hasn’t crashed and burned) we’ll do it again.
You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road today. Have a blessed day!
Title image Facebook post from a friend, Fran
Grabowski 9/1/20 The title for this
post borrows on Doris Kearns Goodwin’s work, Team of Rivals, how
Abraham Lincoln turned his political opposition into a team that helped save
America as a union.
Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©
For other posts on 1 Corinthians 12 see: We Are the Body of Christ and
Holy Mixtures - Part 5
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