1 Corinthians 12:21-26 -- On Unity and Value

"And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.
Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary:
And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness.
For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked:
That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.
And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it."
1 Corinthians 12:21-26

This is an interesting way of saying that we need to be united.  Using the analogy of a body, Paul explains that even though each part of our bodies is different and not all are attractive, all are essential, and we all suffer and rejoice together.  ... And we are like that.  We have different roles, different personalities, different gifts from God, but we are all essential to each other, and we need each other to build a Zion society... and maybe that is where we're currently broken, right?

We often think that we don't need other people in our lives... or at least *certain* other people.  Perhaps the ones on the other side of the political spectrum from us... or on the other side of a number of different spectra, but basically people who are unlike us we tend to think in many ways that we don't need around to disagree with us. :)  But right here God is telling us that we DO need those people, just as a body needs a brain and a heart.  Very different, but equally essential.

I wonder what would change if we really considered everyone essential.  That's back to the idea of loving others as we love ourselves, and building Zion.  Of course there would be no poor among us if we considered the poor people essential to us, right?  We would help them and lift them up so that they could do their essential part in our work that we are accomplishing together.  And honestly, isn't that why Christ died for us--?  Because he and the father considered us essential, despite the fact that they knew we were going to mess things up a lot.

The verse after this selection tells us that we are members of the body of Christ... one in him, working together for the whole.  Today, let's try to understand what that means, and perhaps work on the way that we value and love each other, no matter how different.