Who Helped You?

He glared straight at me as he publicly thanked individuals in the congregation by name for visiting him while in the hospital. I had not visited him, no doubt the reason for the glare-stare.

I know that I was supposed to be embarrassed, after all, I was the preacher and preachers are supposed to visit everyone in the hospital. The trouble was, his public ‘show of gratitude’ was the first I had heard of his trip to the hospital.

Have we misunderstood how the church functions? I would have to shout, “Yes!”

I personally think preachers are largely to blame. Many preachers, not all, but many really like being in the spotlight. They want to be the sage-on-the-stage Bible-answer-man, leader and promoter of all programs, building supervisor, Sunday School superintendent, church counselor, music man, information gateway, and the keeper of the calendar. (Perhaps I exaggerate, but you get the point.)

Without exaggeration, a spotlight on the preacher fosters an unhealthy view of the church and a skewed view of the role and responsibility of the members of the church.

When a check is sent from our congregation to support a missionary or assist fellow Christians in a disaster, we ALL participate. Even if none of us are able to leave town to help, we participate through our finances.

The Apostle Paul expressed joy for the Christians in Philippi for their “participation in the gospel.” They had not accompanied him to the mission field, but had sent him some sort of assistance, probably financial. It is worth noting that he credited the entire church for their assistance. ALL had participated.

If you needed someone to give you a ride, you wouldn’t expect everyone to give you a ride. Let’s take it a step further. What if the preacher was not the one who helped you; what if it was not one of the elders, or one of the deacons? Does it count only if someone ‘official’ gave you the ride? (That’s silly, but you get the point.)

Paul described the way the different members of the church function in the context of spiritual gifts. He said that the Spirit of God distributed spiritual gifts according to God’s will. He went on to use the human body as an illustration saying that the foot is no less a part of the body just because it does not function as a hand. Likewise, the ear is no less a part of the body just because it is not an eye. 

My friend was upset with me for not visiting him, yet several others had visited. That was as silly as my injured hand feeling neglected because my ear did not tend to it.

Here are two things Paul wanted us to know about the way the body of Christ functions:

God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired.
Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.
—1 Corinthians 12:18, 27 (NASB95)

We must understand that when any fellow Christian helps us in a time of need, it is Christ extending assistance through His body, the church. While it is proper to show gratitude to an individual, don’t just thank the ‘hand’ that helped you, thank the head of the body, Jesus Christ in whom we are all connected.

And when you are the helper, remember, it is Christ providing help through you (unless you covet the spotlight). So, give Jesus the credit.

We’re in this together; keep focus on Jesus.

Mark Stinnett

September 29, 2019