Partnership is something that has to be cultivated.  It doesn’t happen automatically.  Cultivating partnership takes teaching, commitment, and much like cultivating a garden, sometimes takes pulling weeds.  By weeds, I mean those bad attitudes that can crop up in our hearts.  Bad attitudes have the ability to choke the life right out of partnership and 1Corinthians 12 mentions two of these attitudes that need to be pulled.

Threatening Attitude 1: “I don’t have anything useful to offer the body”

Christ gives different gifts to different believers according to His will for the good of the entire body.  In fact one of the blessings that comes from being part of the body of Christ is the unity and fellowship that can happen within a group of very different people.  But differences of gifts and talents can also cause insecurity to rear up so that people doubt their usefulness when they compare themselves to others.  Some people, when they look at themselves, only see the things that they AREN’T.  “I don’t play an instrument”, “I’m not good at speaking in public”, “I could never do that…”  Some people just feel as though they fall short on the usefulness scale.  Paul addressed this attitude in the following verse.

[1Co 12:15 ESV] 15 If the foot should 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.

Just because a person believes that they are useless doesn’t make it true, and camping out in that attitude will only lessen the effectiveness of the entire body.  Humility is good, but this attitude isn’t humility – it’s insecurity.  Take this thought captive.  If you are a believer then God wants to use you to be a blessing to the body.  Partnership celebrates the gifts that God has given to you in order that others might be blessed.  Stop thinking about the gifts you don’t have and start using the gifts that you do have.  In what ways can you serve someone today?

Threatening Attitude 2: “I don’t need anything from the rest of the body”

Not only does Christ give different gifts according to His will, but He also gives different people different weaknesses according to His will.  Christ designed you and me to need each other.  Galatians 6 tells us to bear our own load, but there is a difference between bearing our own load and dangerous self-sufficiency.  Bearing our own load means that we don’t use and abuse people’s kindness toward us, but self-sufficiency says, “I am my own man, I have need of nothing, I can do all things by myself”.  Self-sufficient people have a hard time opening up about their weaknesses and they often miss out on the blessings that Christ has designed for them.  Paul addresses this attitude in the following verse.

[1Co 12:21 ESV] 21 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.”

Let’s be honest, sometimes it’s hard to admit that we need help but the reality is that we do.  We have been created not only with strengths but also with weaknesses.  Self sufficiency is not a good thing.  In reality, it is just another form of pride.  We have a great need for the Lord to minister to us and quite often the Lord uses other people as His means of ministering to us.  Take self-sufficiency captive.  If you are a believer then Christ will use other people’s strengths to make up for your weaknesses and this all works for God’s glory.  Isn’t God good?  Partnership celebrates the gifts that God has given to others.  Who are you thankful for today?