We live in a world tearing itself apart on lines of division. Every difference of opinion or belief, no matter how great or small, makes the person on the other side of an issue our enemy who must be utterly destroyed.

Everyone is a critic today, seeking to expose and destroy the tiniest deviations from their own perception of perfection.  Even a minute crack is picked and pried into until it becomes another schism causing tremors in the fabric of our lives.

This convoluted thinking has even infiltrated the Christian Church. The body of Christ is full of believers who all want to be the eyes, brain, and mouth of the body, deciding how everyone should see, think, and speak. If the “lesser” parts don’t get into line, they are ignored or cut out, making the body weak and ineffective.

This is nothing new in the church. Paul wrote about it in his letters to the Romans and in this passage from 1 Corinthians, chapter 12:

¹² The body of Christ has many different parts, just as any other body does. ¹³ Some of us are Jews, and others are Gentiles. Some of us are slaves, and others are free. But God’s Spirit baptized each of us and made us part of the body of Christ. Now we each drink from that same Spirit.^[b]

¹⁴ Our bodies don’t have just one part. They have many parts. ¹⁵ Suppose a foot says, “I’m not a hand, and so I’m not part of the body.” Wouldn’t the foot still belong to the body? ¹⁶ Or suppose an ear says, “I’m not an eye, and so I’m not part of the body.” Wouldn’t the ear still belong to the body? ¹⁷ If our bodies were only an eye, we couldn’t hear a thing. And if they were only an ear, we couldn’t smell a thing. ¹⁸ But God has put all parts of our body together in the way that he decided is best.

¹⁹ A body isn’t really a body, unless there is more than one part. ²⁰ It takes many parts to make a single body. ²¹ That’s why the eyes cannot say they don’t need the hands. That’s also why the head cannot say it doesn’t need the feet. ²² In fact, we cannot get along without the parts of the body that seem to be the weakest.

The Church, the fellowship of believers, the Body of Christ, is meant to be an example to the rest of the world, reflecting the glory of God with our love. If we cannot do that, even toward our fellow believers, how then can we influence anyone for Christ?

Just as our country will not long survive while factions are trying to destroy each other, the church must get over the need to find fault, and support one another in the spiritual battle.

When we look at today’s problems, rather than ask, “Whose fault is this?” We can say, “How can the church (working together) make a difference, for the Kingdom of God?”