One must go!
“Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually” (1 Cor 12:27 NKJV).
Our society is concerned about the increased amount of bullying going on in schools. This undesirable phenomenon seems to be rampant. Should we be surprised? Unfortunately, the adult world is not leading by example. I think the problem can be partly blamed on TV, where reality game show follows reality game show. Although the game rules and setups may vary somewhat, they all have one thing in common – one person must leave the group after the episode is over. This process of excluding one of the participants is accomplished through all kinds of dirty tricks, conspiracies and unholy alliances.
We also encounter this problem in our workplaces. Business consultants, whose primary purpose is to streamline the business, making it more cost-effective, are looking for opportunities to make people “unneeded”. This is indeed the opposite of what the Bible teaches concerning the Church. As new creations in Christ, we have a unique portion in the congregation (2 Cor 5:17).
Therefore, a child of God, who is an adequate member of the Body of Christ, cannot simply be “redundant”, and thus asked to leave. On the contrary, every joint supplies (Eph 4:16). Accordingly, our speech should only include what is “good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers” (Eph 4:29b NKJV). Nobody must go! Instead, all should be welcomed and encouraged as the individual members we are.