"1Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. 2You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. 3Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.
4There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.
7Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.
12The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
14Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 16And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 17If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
21The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" 22On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
27Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. 29Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are teachers? Do all work miracles? 30Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? 31But eagerly desire the greater gifts. And now I will show you the most excellent way.
(1 Corinthians 12)
The church is described as a body. It has arms, legs, eyes etc. that serve distinct functions. The people in the church represent these parts and fulfill these functions through the manifestation of spiritual gifts. Each part needs each other to fulfill the mission which is to reach the world! But like any body, there can be occasions where it oversleeps, over eats and becomes unhealthy. If the body is functioning properly, honor will be given to those people that lack it. But sometimes that doesn't happen because of our human fallibility's. It makes the body unhealthy. A look will be taken at some of the risks or consequences when the body doesn't function in this way and things that can be done to deal with these risks.
As mentioned, we are to give honor to those parts that especially lack it (1 Cor 12: 4). But this can be risky. We can run into some problems if we honor certain people. Let's take an occasion from Genesis. There was Cain and Abel who both offered sacrifices to the Lord. Abel offers a better one. God is pleased and honors him (Genesis 4:4). He even mentions to Cain that, "If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?" (Genesis 4:7) Cain was very angry and downcast. Perhaps he might have been jealous. His anger got the better of him. He decides to kill his brother. His small sin of anger would drive him to kill his own flesh and blood which is Abel.
I wonder about the relationship between Cain and Abel. Did they have fond memories together? I wonder if they played together or cried together or helped each other or looked out for each other as children? They grew up together and came from the same womb. They must have had some kind of bond or connection. There must have been some relationship between them. But all that was put aside to satisfy the anger of Cain.
The risk of honoring someone is that other people might feel jealous or angry. Cain is one of them. He was also given the opportunity to do what was right. He gave in to the anger instead and it took the life of his brother. Anger seems like such a small sin. But it can bring murder. It is a sin that Jesus speaks harshly against.
""You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment."
(Matthew 5:21 - 21)
There is also another consequence or risk to honoring others. Some people may feel left out. There are those who work hard, silently, and give allot and help allot and never get any honor or credit or a pat on the back for it. These are the ones who do the thankless work that no one sees or knows about. It is easy to feel left out...
Well, God will still honor people with rewards at His award ceremony whether people feel left out or jealous.
""Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. " (Revelation 22:12)
So what do we do in the meantime? How do we deal with these risks?
What we must do is kill and crucify evil desires like anger, jealousy as it is said in Galatians. "You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love" (Galatians 5:13)
The consequences are real. "If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other." (Galatians 5:15)
The way to kill and destroy those evil desires is mentioned above which is to serve one another in love. The other way of destroying these pesky carnal desires is to obey 1 Corinthians 12:26 which is to rejoice with those who are honored. This will kill the jealousy, hatred and anger. It is an act of the will that we do whether we feel like it or not. It helps to align our will with Jesus' as well. It is an action of faith.
How do we deal with the risk of feeling left out? The above mentioned will take care of those desires but also another truth must be heard. Each part is indispensable (1 Cor 12:22). Also, God's love for the 'left outs' is still the same whether they are honored or not. His love is still bigger, stronger and more valuable than any honor or public recognition can give. It is said by Paul,
"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
(Romans 8:38-39)
Dealing with these risks by serving and loving others and believing God's love for us against all other feelings will help keep the church body healthy, functioning and aligned in God's will. Let's continue to do so and, "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds." (Hebrews 10:24)
It was time for the youth to take over. We made some adjustments and gave it an "Ignite" makeover. MM was our guest speaker and man can he let it rip! He spoke of Moses and how God was still faithful and used him inspite of his failures. MM didn't cheap on using his Punjabi either. We were all at the edge of our seat. God I love this man. He is a true inspiration. He obeyed that call of God which led him to Punjab. 
He can speak fluent Punjabi.
Thank you Jesus for Men of God like him. 
They stir us up, inspire us, and remind us to keep running the race no matter what. Let's do it! 
