Every Man for Himself, or ...

Every Man for Himself or…

Colossians 3:16

I remember when my son, Drew, joined the United States Army. I had never served in the armed forces, but I knew a little about what he was going to go through in boot camp. They were going to make a soldier out of him and he was going to learn some important life lessons. He served overseas and thankfully returned safely.

Recently, he and I  recalled those days of his service to our country. He told me on the very first day of boot camp he was assigned a “battle buddy”. Besides himself, he now was responsible for another. The two of them served together side by side and learned to take responsibility for each others’ actions and well being. He was also taught the importance of their group (platoon) and its coordinated actions. In other words, they learned to work together. The unit was no stronger than the weakest among them. When the unit was given a mission, it was a mission for all. Each man or woman took their place and gave it all they had to complete the mission. The stronger helped the weaker; the more agile assisted the clumsy. Each member of the group brought his or her own talents and used these gifts in a coordinated way that helped them accomplish the mission. The “every man for himself” mentality is a losing strategy if you want to accomplish the mission.

The Body of Christ functions in much the same way. On Sunday morning the local Body is never more tangibly or physically displayed. Though we are diverse as individuals, the Bible teaches us that our individual giftedness works together under the Head of the Body, Jesus Christ.  Among other things, corporate worship teaches us how to be one in Him. In worship we are learning to put aside our personal tastes and preferences to demonstrate our oneness as the Body of Christ.

The “admonishment or encouragement” that Paul writes about in this passage (Colossian 3:16) is more than a hearty pat on the back or fond embrace. It points to a responsibility that we have for each other. As we worship, we should be focused more upon a joint experience with God, rather than an individual experience.

In “after-worship” conversations, I often hear “I” this and “I” that; or the worship was very meaningful to “me”.  I believe this reflects a near-sighted focus we bring to corporate worship. We “silo” ourselves into a vertical experience that sometimes reduces our faith family to a mere distraction rather than a fellowship of believers.

If this is true, then each of us should re-examine our focus in worship.  Corporate worship should be uniquely focused upon a joint experience, rather than an individual experience with God. We need to take responsibility for the worship of others; to come along side one another much as a brother or sister would and bring them into the worship time. The “every man for himself” mentality has no place in Christian corporate worship.

Our individual relationship with God is primary and we should bring the gifts born of that relationship to the table each Sunday as we gather in His name. A measure of the depth of that relationship is how we bring it to corporate worship. Are we coming to worship to find our special seat and shut out the distractions around us or are we coming to take responsibility for our faith family worship? 

Corporate worship is a two-fold endeavor. First, it is an annunciation of our leader, Jesus Christ and second, it is a demonstration of a coordinated unit that follows Him together, with no one left behind. Can we step from our silos and unite together in worship?

the friar