Off with the Toe!

Our bodies are such complicated and magnificent creations. Every part of our body was made to work together in harmony, however sometimes there are complications and disease begins to spread throughout the body. Other times the body begins to attack itself while attempting to heal. Through the course of my life I have seen this to also be true for the body of Christ. More times than should be the case, when a member of the body is hurting or spiritually wounded the rest of the body begins to attack. I understand that at times it is best for the body as a whole to lose a toe however one does not cut off a toe when there is still an option to save it. Last month I stubbed my toe on a statue, it was very painful. Jokingly a friend suggested than I cut off the toe so that I no longer felt the pain from it. Instead, like most people of sound mind, I had the toe wrapped and then kept it elevated while I slept. The following morning I woke to find that I could walk with much less pain. I began to think about how this applies to the church body. Many times the reactions of members of the church body toward someone who is causing pain to the body as a whole or that is diseased with sin is to cut them off. However, if cutting off a person from the church was viewed with the same devastation and seriousness as cutting off a toe or foot then perhaps we would realize that it is better for the body as a whole to attack the disease instead of the person. We have the choice of whether we will bandage up our sick and wounded or whether we will cut them off. I believe that until there is no other option we should fight to heal every member of the body of Christ.