“There should be no division in the body, but 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.” 

(I Cor. 12:25-26)

Our Declaration of Independence guarantees us individual rights - to life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness. We have spent two centuries honing prioritization of our personal freedoms - to be ME because I’m worth it, to do it MY way, to take what I think I’M owed - even if that hurts or disregards someone else. Jesus prioritized personal freedom, too. Freedom from sin, death, fear, condemnation, and following the Law for salvation. Freedoms to benefit the common good, not just individuals out for personal pleasure. Freedoms which always sprang from a heart of sacrifice and love.

It’s more natural to desire honor, privilege, or entitlement, whether it’s at home or work, on the sports field, or in the church, than it is to defer to others. Paul speaks to Christians about the destructiveness of such entitlement-based thinking. In I Cor. 12, he imagines parts of the physical body warring with each other for supremacy and significance. It’s counter-cultural, but long-term thriving comes when we act as a team, in community, in “equal concern for each other, for when one part is honored, every part rejoices with it” (12:25-6). 

I’ve never liked the game of hide-and-seek; I’m learning to like it even less now that my 5-year old grandson wants to play it Every. Single. Time he comes over. We hide in the same places Every. Single. Time. We’re the grandparents; aren’t we owed respect and deference? Aren’t we entitled to insist on a different game (or no game and, instead, the Lazy Boy?). And yet, where’s the love or sacrifice in demanding such honor? We love Rohan, so we submit, yes, to a five-year old. That’s counter-cultural to our society and maybe even to many multi-generational families. But foregoing our rights is for the common good here: a happy kid, his happy parents, and maybe Rohan’s memories when he’s a parent himself wanting to assert his rights when demanding kids clamor for his attention. It’s the Jesus Way: if anyone ever had a right to insist on deference and submission, it was Jesus. But He always sought the good of others, and always out of love, even when it meant the ultimate sacrifice. So can’t I sacrifice a mere thirty minutes when it makes a child so happy? 

I’d like to think it makes Jesus happy, too. 

Relying on, submitting to, mutually honoring each other “spurs us toward love and good deeds” (Heb. 10:24). It’s how the early church began its counter-cultural journey and how it thrives centuries later. So, let others go ahead of you in traffic, dialogue with (instead of automatically rejecting) someone over a culturally hot topic, get coffee and a scone for your boss, sacrifice personal time to serve Thanksgiving meals at the Rescue Mission, have family meetings instead of one parent making decisions.…play hide-and-seek. Let’s be imitators of Christ: submitting, honoring, respecting others for the common good. It’s so counter-cultural that people will notice.