Life in the Body

Civic organizations, political organizations, businesses, and even non-profits are careful with their employees and those who make up their organization. They desire highly qualified individuals to be a part of their organization. Unqualified individuals or those who hamper the goals or effectiveness of the organization and its mission are generally dismissed.

That is how man thinks and how man organizes. God is different.

God keeps the weak. In the body of Christ (the church), the weak members are given prominence. The Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth that those who “seem to be weaker are necessary.” He said that the members “without honor” were given “abundant honor.” (See 1 Corinthians 12:18-27.) So, a member of the body of Christ should never have the attitude that another member is unimportant or unnecessary.

This principle is easily illustrated with the human body. If I smack my thumb with a hammer, I don’t cut off my thumb. Instead, my other hand holds it, and my tear ducts might even activate. Other body members work harder to do the work that the injured thumb would ordinarily do. They also provide protection for the injured thumb. The same thing could be said for a weakness in the body. Where there is injury or weakness, the other members of my body respond.

The Christian widows in Jerusalem who were overlooked are an example this principle at work in the early church. When their situation was brought to light, they were given “abundant honor.” How? Others humbled themselves to provide for them and serve them. They were not forgotten or cast aside or forced out because of their needs; they were considered important. (See Acts 6.)

In God’s church the strong rally around those who are weak and those who have needs. The weak and needy are given abundant honor as they are shown that they are important. Those who are able to provide assistance give the needed support or attention. They treat those who are weak or in need as equals. In that, the weak and needy are shown abundant honor.

It is necessary for the members of Christ to respond to many kinds of needs: financial, employment, parental, assistance in and around the home, or simple conversation. Some may need spiritual help: teaching or help dealing with sin. Not everyone in the body responds to every need, but those who are healthy and strong and who have opportunity respond.

We do not cast off members of Christ’s body just because there are needs or because of weakness. We give. We console. We assist. We serve. We teach. We appeal. We rebuke. We pray. But most of all we keep. We keep those who are weak and needy because God does.

In the body of Christ, we consider others as more important than ourselves. We are the body of Christ...and we give attention to those who are weak and in need.



Mark Stinnett

September 6, 2026

Servanthood: What about Me?

Someone humorously noted that once man had rocketed to the moon and discovered that is was not made of cheese, he did not go back!

It seems that some people think about heaven in a similar way. They are interested in heaven only if it has things they like. They cannot imagine enjoying heaven without their spouse, or extended family, or a favorite pet, leisure activity, entertainment option, or...bacon. (Silly, right?)

Someone recently suggested that heaven might be boring if there is no sin. Someone else wondered if heaven would have the variety of life that so many are accustomed to experiencing on earth. Some people find is discouraging, or, at least, uninteresting, to read in Revelation about angels continually singing praises to God. And why? Singing is not their interest.

The ‘servant’ passages of Scripture also bother some people. Do you find it difficult to embrace the idea of being God’s slave and adopting His will?

In the last two blogs servanthood was considered. In the blog entitled “No Thanks” (7/12), a parable was considered in which Jesus noted that a servant has but one task, to serve his master. He does not expect thanks for his service. In the blog entitled “Accepted for What?” (7/19), the Parable of the Talents was considered. The two servants who carried out their master’s will received no thanks or payment. In fact, one received greater responsibility. And yet the master invited both, “Enter into the joy of your master.”

I think we sometimes wish God would hold an ‘open house’ so we could take a peek into heaven to see if it is all that we expect. (At least post pics!) Our limited human mind wants to know, “What’s in it for me?”

On one occasion Jesus used the servant-master relationship to illustrate readiness. He encouraged His followers to be like servants who were eagerly waiting for their master to return from a wedding feast so they could open the house to him. However, the picture described by Jesus was different than other servant-master illustrations/parables:

Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them.

--Luke 12:37

That was quite surprising. The master served the servants!

Parables and illustrations like this typically represent God or Jesus as the Master and the disciples of Jesus as the servants. The return of the Master most often represents a time of judgment and sometimes the end of time and final judgment with the afterlife to follow. The servant-master relationship is used to teach us something about the eternal kingdom of God.

Jesus revealed more about the faithful slave as He continued with the illustration. The faithful slave is the one who is watchful, prepared and ready. In other words, he is faithfully carrying out his master’s will. Jesus said of him, “Truly I say to you that he [master] will put him [slave] in charge of all his possessions.” (v. 44) I am not sure what the master’s possessions represent in this illustration. Yet, verse 44 is the second half of a beatitude that began in verse 43: So...blissful is that slave who is prepared.

Have we become so engorged on our wealthy lifestyle that we have lost our taste for heaven? Are we so spoiled that we think, “What’s in it for me?” Have we become accustomed to being our own master!? 

Have you ever wondered if Satan might be using ‘life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness’ to distract you from more important things?

It is blissful to be a faithful slave to Jesus because of our future hope.

Can your mind embrace that truth?

Mark Stinnett

July 26, 2026

Pick and Choose?

Made with hotpot.ai/art-generator

The truth of God’s word is not dependent upon human compliance.

In God’s word are many instructions regarding life and living. Some are more about an individual’s response to God while others lean more to the way we interact with each other. Whatever the instruction, nothing changes in God’s words if you comply or if you rebel. His instruction remains.

Let me show you an example of what I am thinking about with a statement passed around in recent months on social media. I do not know its source although it is attributed to Rev. Benjamin Cremer. I don’t know if this person really exists, and if so, if he actually said/wrote this. Nevertheless, this quotation and ones like it flood the minds of modern readers.

“If you take the Bible extremely literally about human sexuality, but not about feeding the hungry, bringing good news to the poor, liberating the oppressed, forgiving debts, bringing health to the sick, or loving your neighbor, please don’t act like you take the Bible seriously.”

That sounds good, right? It sounds good and right! Surely, anyone who takes the Bible seriously must be serious about those good works. And yet, you might already see the slight of hand the author attempts.

The author of the quotation has isolated two general activities and set them against each other. On the one hand is ’human sexuality,’ which might be placed in the broad category of holiness. It is about one’s moral response to God. We might even say that it is addressed by the first great command, to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.

On the other hand there are ‘acts of service,’ which might be placed in the broad category of love. It is about one’s love for one’s fellow man, something addressed in the second great command.

One of the reasons this quotation sounds as if it is the moral high ground is because the Bible contains something similar. In 1 John 3:17 we read...

Whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?

However, let’s flip the original quotation upside down:

“If you take the Bible extremely literally about feeding the hungry, bringing good news to the poor, liberating the oppressed, forgiving debts, bringing health to the sick, or loving your neighbor but not about human sexuality, please don’t act like you take the Bible seriously.”

The way the original quotation reads, morality is set against loving service as if service is superior to morality. Yet, in the second modified version, loving service is set against morality as if morality is superior. Reduced down, both versions ultimately present tension between the first great command and the second. In reality, both commands come from God and do not compete. The second command is developed from the first and complements it.

If we look deeper, both commands are rooted in the character of God. God is holy and demands that we live our lives in holiness and purity. At the same time, God is love and He demands that we live our lives in love and service. In God there is no tension between holiness and love. God is holy in all his decisions and actions and, at the same time, He always acts in love.

So, do you need to love others through service? Absolutely. And also, do you need to maintain holiness through purity in your sexuality and all other aspects of life? Absolutely. Christianity is not a pick and choose menu. You are either a disciple of Jesus in every aspect of your life, or you are not a disciple.

Mark Stinnett

April 12, 2026

My Grandpa’s Naïve Generation (chuckle)

We both chuckled when I shared some of the game rules my mom had grown up with. My grandpa would not allow his kids to use dice, so they had to make their own spinner when moving game pieces around the Monopoly board. My mom and her siblings were also forbidden the use of 'spot' cards (the kind with spades, hearts, clubs and diamonds). Dice and spot cards were the tools of gambling, a practice considered morally wrong by my grandparents. The thinking of my grandpa’s generation seemed naïve. We chuckled.

Then, my friend, looking upward and tapping his chin with his forefinger, paused and thoughtfully said, “You know, those folks were really serious about not sinning.”

I was taken back by his statement because I had only thought of their behavior as uninformed and silly. I had never considered the possibility that they were consciously trying to avoid sin.

My friend went on to explain his understanding of my grandparent’s generation. He told me that their guiding principle came from scripture:

Abstain from all appearance of evil.

—1 Thessalonians 5:22 (KJV)

Modern translations have: “Abstain from every form of evil” or “Reject every kind of evil.”

The point is that their generation was intent on following Scripture in order to practice godly living in their daily lives. Even though I personally see nothing wrong with using dice or spot cards, I certainly admire such an attitude toward godly living.

Moral tolerance, soft doctrine, and benevolence are the fashion trends in today’s Christian community in the United States while godliness, holiness and purity have taken a back seat. Topics such as righteousness, truth and sound doctrine are too often thought to generate arguments. For that reason, they are avoided. The result is a religious environment that extends a generous hand to those with physical needs (though not as effectively as secular charitable organizations) while tolerating “every form of evil.”

Generosity, service and benevolence are good. However, godliness, purity and holiness are not to be ignored:

Who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood and has not sworn deceitfully. 

--Psalm 24:3-4

You shall be holy, for I am holy. 

--1 Peter 1:13

For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification. 

--1 Thessalonians 4:7

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 

--Matthew 5:6

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 

--2 Corinthians 5:21

He must turn away from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it. 

--1 Peter 3:11

We must indeed love one another by extending benevolence and service and we must also devote ourselves to God in righteousness and purity and holiness.

And that’s no laughing matter in any generation.

Mark Stinnett

June 15, 2025