“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 combined the members of the body and has given 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.” (1 Corinthians 12:21-26)
Don’t you love this church?! They’ve got messed up people who think they’re so good they don’t need anyone else. A touch of arrogance, pride, conceit. Yuck!
Who do you think it was that got to strutting around like a peacock full of themselves? It was the folks just like you and me. It was the guys who forgot who gave them their gifts. It was the gals who thought their gift was the best or most important. It was the men who believed they were able to do it all. It was the women who looked down their noses at those who only encouraged or only helped or only served.
I hate to say this, but I suspect it might have been a few of those in the church gifted with the ability to teach. There are certainly plenty of otherwise godly men and women in the church today who begin teaching, draw a huge crowd and sadly become full of themselves. They become self-confident instead of God-confident. They rely on their speaking skills rather than on the Spirit of God. They quickly cease to be useful to God or his church. They do not bring glory to God nor do they benefit anyone else with what they say.
Let me say this plainly: I am no different than you. I am and you are single members of the church God has put together. I happen to be gifted by God to teach. If anything I say is helpful to you, it’s not because I’m smart or witty or engaging. If you are helped, it’s because God has chosen to speak to your heart. It’s because your heart is set on hearing him.
You are gifted by God to do what you do. You are called to encourage and speak wisely. He has called you to pray faithfully and lead diligently. He has enabled you to give generously and share Jesus with others.
When you see God work through you, don’t get all excited about yourself. Get excited about God! He invited you to join him in his work. You obeyed and God worked through you. Give him the glory!
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