When we give our lives to God, we become members of the same Body. And we are not united only on Sunday mornings! Even the decisions we make during the week, alone at home, have an impact on the Body of Christ.

“Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it” (1 Corinthians 12:27 NIV). Every person in the Church has an effect, for better or worse. If we are strong spiritually, we build up the Church a little more. If we are weak spiritually, we weaken it a little more. If we allow God to use us to touch lives, we help the Church a little more. And if we compromise spiritually, we weaken them a little more. Each person produces an effect.

Writing to the Church in Corinth, the Apostle Paul said: “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it” (1 Corinthians 12:26 NIV).

Paul also rebuked this Church for boasting of bringing in someone who claimed to be a believer but lived immorally. They were proud of their tolerance. Paul said to them, “And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this?” (1 Corinthians 5:2 NIV).

We have value in the Church. Anyone raising their voice in worship matters. Every gift in the offering counts. And every act we do outside of the Church matters. If we are Christians, we are an important part of the Body of Christ.

We need to get rid of this mindset of me first, what’s in it for me, and start thinking biblically. We need to start asking ourselves what we can do to help others and serve others. We need to ask ourselves how we can learn to resolve conflicts and maintain unity in the Church.

Instead of approaching the Church as a consumer who is just trying to get in and out every weekend, let’s get in and use the gifts God has given us. It can change our life, and it can certainly change the way we see the Church.