All The Parts Are Needed To Make It Work
Word-Of-The-Day: ‘(2) <God spoke to Ezekiel,> “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? (3) You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. (4) You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally.’” (Ezekiel 34:2-4); ‘Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.’ (Philippians 4:8)
No matter what organization one belongs to, whenever one section fails to do its task or goes off to do its own thing, the organization breaks down and the end result is failure. An automobile factory, for example, has cars pushed down the assembly line, starting with the frame, then the engine and drivetrain are added, then the body is put on, the interior, and then the wheels and glass. Once complete, they are on the trucks going to dealerships for sale.
If the engine folks decide to go to lunch off-schedule (essentially going to brunch) and stop making engines, the assembly line will need to shut down and there is no work to be done by the rest of the plant until the engine folks show back up. In this scenario, the engine folks were thinking of themselves (they were really hungry) and not of the good of the company as a whole. The stoppage of cars increased backorder, the company had to either pay the others to sit idle in their departments or they sent them home without pay.
A cascading effect can occur, the truckers who deliver new cars to dealers may get laid off or not paid; the dealerships having no cars to sell may need to let go sales personnel. It could (if say the engine folks took a really long lunch break to go on a week-long Caribbean cruise) cause the company itself to go bankrupt and fail.
The same can be said for any organization. It may not be as big of a deal as an engine; recently it seems airplanes are losing their landing wheels. If there happens to be a shortage of people who can properly bolt on these wheels or a shortage of proper bolts to hold the wheels on, we may see more planes skid in for a landing – and likely less people willing to fly on them. A job or a task needs to be done properly and without falsehoods or it can lead to severe consequences and failure.
Ezekiel 34, in context, is that the priests of Israel were focusing on themselves and not doing their job as the shepherds of God’s people. They ignored the pleas of their people, and fed them little in the way of the Lord’s Word. Due to their failure lead the people, they fell into idolatry and worshipped false gods. Lies, half-truths, and laziness by the priests allowed the people to fall away from God, and their failure caused Israel to fail. Had the priests been Faithful and not selfish in their own interests, God may not have taken His protection off Israel, the Babylonians would have been defeated and the Exile never taking place, as the Assyrians were defeated in Hezekiah’s time ~100 years before.
We who are Christians understand each of us make up the Church, or body of Christ; each Christian has a part to play in the advancement of the Gospel of Jesus. Each of us have gifts, talents, and provisions, through God, to support Him in the task of spreading the Gospel message and helping others. It may not be a role that gains attention or is glamorous, but it needs to be done or the church and the transmission of the Gospel message can be interrupted.
For example, if those who sweep the floors or greet and welcome visitors stop doing so, a visitor may come in and see the mess on the carpet and no one to greet them or point them to the sanctuary. The visitors may decide a church that can’t take care of itself can’t take care of them in their time of need, and leave. The failure of a small part can lead to someone missing their opportunity to hear about the saving Grace of Christ.
Paul, in Philippians 4, implores us, his brothers and sisters in Jesus, to do the right things and do which we are gifted to do, and do them to our utmost abilities. If we think about what God would want us to do, and pray about it then we will do it properly as that is what honors God. In terms of a car manufacturer, there are enough brands, used cars, and rental car companies so one is not stranded, but in terms of the Lord there may only be one shot in someone receiving Salvation. It’s important we all do what we can in our roles. Regardless of how small we may think we play, all the parts of the body of the church are extremely important – don’t discount your role in sharing the Gospel!
