Body Life: A Parable

In close relationships it is often easy to become irritated or to grow impatient with those we interact with regularly. Our familiarity can rob us of the appreciation we ought to have for the differences in others and instead tempt us to zero in with uncanny insight & self- righteous criticism at their weaknesses. Sometimes we even believe their differences are their weakness. Instead, God calls us to embrace the beauty of diversity and the strength it brings. (If we were all alike, how inefficient, imbalanced and boring would that be?)
God knew this. Indeed, diversity is a core emphasis of his local church design. And it displays his brilliance.
Let’s guard our thoughts, attitudes, perceptions and their resulting actions toward each other. If you find yourself avoiding, rolling your eyes, irritated, impatient or disinterested in a person you rub shoulders with at church because they are so __________ (you fill in the blank), this is not their problem, it is yours. (Okay, it may be their problem second, but it is your problem to deal with in your own heart first.)
Consider this thought-provoking parable from Jonathan Leeman, as quoted in What is A Healthy Church? By Mark Dever
Nose and Hand were sitting in the church pew talking. The morning service, led by Ear & Mouth, had just ended, and Hand was telling Nose that he and his family had decided to look for a different church.
“Really?” Nose responded to Hand’s news. “Why?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Hand said, looking down. He was usually slower to speak than the other members of the church body. “I guess because the church doesn’t have what Mrs. Hand and I are looking for.””Well, what are you looking for in a church?” Nose asked. The tone in which he spoke these words was sympathetic. But even as he was speaking them he knew he would dismiss Hand’s answer. If Hands couldn’t see that Nose and the rest of leadership were pointing the church body in the right direction, the body would do it without them.
Hand had to think before answering. He and Mrs. Hand liked Pastor Mouth and his family. And Minister of Music Ear meant well. “Well, I guess we’re looking for a place where people are more like us,” Hand finally stammered. “We tried spending time with the Legs, but we didn’t connect with them. Next we joined the small group for all the Toes. But they kept talking about socks and shoes and odors. And that didn’t interest us. :
Nose looked at him this time with genuine dismay. “Aren’t you glad they’re concerned with odors?!”
“Sure, sure, but that’s not for us. Then, we attended the Sunday School for all you facial features. Do you remember? We came for several Sundays a few months ago.”
“It was great to have you.”
“Thank you. But everyone just wanted to talk, and listen, and smell, and taste. It felt like, well, it felt like you never wanted to work and get your hands dirty. Anyway, Mrs. Hand and I were thinking about checking out that new church over on East Side. We hear they do a lot of clapping and handraising, which is closer to what we need right now.”
“Hmmmmm,” Nose replied. “I see what you mean. We’d hate to see you go. But I guess you have to do what’s good for you.”
At that moment Mrs. Hand, who had been caught up in another conversation, turned back to join her husband and Nose. Hand briefly explained what he and Nose had been talking about, after which Nose repeated his sadness at the prospect of losing the Hands. But he again said that he understood since it sounded like their needs weren’t being met.
Mrs Hand nodded in agreement. She wanted to be polite, but, truth be told, she wasn’t so sad to be leaving. Her husband had made just enough critical remarks about the church over the years that her heart had begun to reflect his. No, he had never burst into an open tirade against the body. In fact, he usually apologized for ‘being so negative’, as he put it. But the little complaints that he let slip out here and there had had an effect. The small groups were a little cliquish. The music was a little out of date. The programs did seem a little silly. The teaching wasn’t entirely to their liking. In the end, it was hard for the two of them to put their fingers on it, but they finally decided that the church wasn’t for them.
In addition to all that, Mrs. Hand knew that their daughter Pinkie was not comfortable with the youth group. Everyone was so different from her, she felt out of joint.
Mrs. Hand then said something about how much she appreciated Nose and the leadership. But the conversation had already run too long for Nose. Besides, her perfume made him want to sneeze. He thanked Mrs. Hand for her encouragement, repeated that he was sorry to hear of their departure, then turned and walked away.
Who needed the Hands?Apparently they didn’t need him."God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts but one body. 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 .”~I Corinthians 12:18-21