Devotion: Responsibility #ThisMatters
1 Corinthians 12:12-26
“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot would say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear would say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many members, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and those members of the body that we think less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect; whereas our more respectable members do not need this. But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior member, that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.”
As we reflected on Paul’s words from 1 Corinthians 12 in worship last weekend and Pastor Greg contrasted the passage with how our natural tendency as Christians is to live very individualized lives, I was reminded of how much time I personally spend day-to-day in my own
On the newest iOS upgrade, my phone now provides me with a weekly usage summary. At first, I personally found this feature annoying as if my phone was insulting my intelligence.
The more I think about it, “insulted” is really how I feel after I get that little pop-up. After all, it’s none of my phone’s business how much time I spend looking at it.
After getting over the feeling of being insulted, I think that God was giving me a gentle, intimate nudge of conviction. Perhaps that conviction was to use the new phone usage tool as a way to see how much time I spend on my phone, as well as mitigate the personal interruptions that my phone causes on a daily basis.
While God has created us all as unique individuals, our uniqueness isn’t meant to be lived out as isolated individuals. In 2018, a great example of an isolated individual is the person who has traded in the opportunity to spend time with his or her loved ones, friends, and neighbors for early onset of carpal tunnel from hunching over a mobile device for hours, days, and years of time.
May this week’s message be a reminder that our technological advancements using computers and mobile applications have brought us far into the realms of convenience and entertainment. But unfortunately, there is no proof (that I’m aware of) that these advancements have helped encourage us to live and care for the people around us.
Gracious and loving God, in Your gentle way, please help us to remember that we as individual people, make up the Body of Your love, which is a great force of great healing and love for this world. Help us to lay down our mobile devices and step into service roles where we can be the physical hands and feet of your presence.
In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.
Written by Matt Clay
Matt and his wife Joanna and have two young daughters, Emery and Madisen. The Clay’s have been members of the Sheridan community since 2014. Matt enjoys writing devotions for Sheridan and serving in the OneSent Market.