by Jimmy Jividen

Some of the Christians at Corinth had a poor self image. They were "ungifted" and felt inferior to those who possessed the showy miraculous gifts of speaking in foreign languages. They felt "left out" in the church and "unimportant."

Paul used an analogy to deal with this problem. The church, he said, is the body of Christ. Every Christian is a member of this spiritual body, just as the arm and leg are members of our physical body. They are connected and interdependent. The poor self-perception of the "ungifted" is reflected in the text. "Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body ... because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body" (1 Corinthians 12:15).

Paul affirmed that every member of the body is important. Every Christian has a place and is needed. To prove this, he asked three rhetorical questions: "If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? ... And if they were all one member, where would the body be?" (1 Corinthians 12:17,19).

Every member was important at Corinth. It is the same today. Those members who perform "unglamorous" jobs are necessary. Those with physical and mental abilities are important. Paul said, "The members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary" (l Corinthians 12:22).

Instead of being envious or feeling inferior because of our own limitations, we should rejoice that we are all a part of the body of Christ. Our concern should be to do what we can with what we have where we are.