My mother grew up as the youngest on a small farm in middle Tennessee. They had chickens and cows, as well as other barnyard critters. When she was four or five years old, my grandmother would take her along to do the morning chores. There was always something for a little girl to do. She gathered eggs in places only a little person could reach. And while Granny was milking the cow, Granny told her, “Hold that cow’s tail!” My mother would gently hold the cow’s tail so it didn’t get swished into Granny’s face and interrupt her pace in that important work.
It all sounds humorous now, but there were some valuable lessons to be learned. First, everyone, big or small, has a job to do. Second, every job, small or big, is important. Third, everyone is valued and needed. These concepts are especially true in the church of the Lord. The church at Corinth did not understand these basic principles. Some of the Corinthian brethren thought they must have visible, “showy” positions of service. Others functioned in somewhat menial positions and thought their work was not as valuable.
The apostle Paul corrected these mistaken views when he said, For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 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. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? (1 Cor. 12:14-17).
The person who cleans the building or prepares the Lord’s Supper is just as needful as the person who publicly preaches, teaches, or leads prayers. Paul made it abundantly clear that everyone, big or small, has a job to do in the well-functioning church, the body of Christ. Every job, small or big, is equally important. Every member is valued and needed. Our aim, then, is to find a role, a work, a service that honors our Lord, and seek out those who are young or young in the faith and urge them to “Hold that cow’s tail!”
Today’s Verse: And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (Colossians 3:17).
–By Teresa Hampton