Attend any rodeo with riding and roping competition and you’ll see them—competitors with four fingers on one hand and a nub where their thumb should be. It’s a common injury in the sport—a thumb gets caught between a rope on one end and a decent-sized steer pulling on the other, and the thumb is usually the loser. It’s not a career-ending injury, but the absence of a thumb changes things. Without using your thumb, try to brush your teeth or button a shirt or comb your hair or tie your shoes or even eat. That little overlooked member of your body plays a significant role.
The apostle Paul indicates a similar scenario in the church. Those often less visible and frequently less vocal members sometimes experience an “I don’t need you” response from the others (1 Corinthians 12:21). Usually this is unspoken, but there are times when it is said aloud.
God calls us to have equal concern and respect for one other (v. 25). Each and every one of us is a part of Christ’s body (v. 27), regardless of the gifting we have received, and we need each other. Some of us are eyes and ears, so to speak, and some of us are thumbs. But each of us plays a vital role in the body of Christ, sometimes more than meets the eye.