MAKE ROOM FOR OTHERS

It is possible to work beside people without truly welcoming their contribution. We can invite help while keeping every meaningful decision for ourselves. We can praise teamwork while quietly believing that everything depends on us. Paul’s picture of the church as a body challenges that assumption. The eye cannot dismiss the hand, and the head cannot tell the feet that their presence is unnecessary.

The Corinthian believers needed this correction because spiritual gifts had become entangled with status and comparison. Some contributions attracted attention; others seemed less impressive. Paul did not solve the problem by pretending everyone had the same function. Instead, he taught that the Spirit forms one body with many members. Difference was not a defect to overcome. It was part of God’s wise provision for the whole community.

Our unity rests in Christ, not in matching personalities, backgrounds or abilities. Through Him, people who might otherwise remain strangers become members of one another. His cross leaves no room for superiority, because every believer depends on the same mercy. His lordship also frees us from needing to be the centre. We can celebrate a gift we do not possess because it serves the One we all belong to.

Collaboration therefore requires more than dividing a list of jobs. It involves listening seriously, explaining decisions and allowing another person’s insight to change our plans. In an international church, this may mean noticing how language, age, education or cultural expectations affect who speaks and who remains quiet. A thoughtful leader does not assume silence means agreement. Sometimes an invitation offered gently creates room for wisdom the group has been missing.

Working together can also expose friction. Different approaches may slow a meeting or reveal unresolved expectations. Love does not require avoiding those conversations. Clarify responsibilities, agree realistic deadlines and address disappointment without attacking character. Ask what the shared mission needs rather than whose preference should win. Collaboration becomes healthier when accountability and encouragement travel together, and when people can admit uncertainty without being treated as incapable.

Today, identify someone whose contribution you have overlooked or tightly controlled. Ask for their perspective before the decision is final. Thank them specifically for what they bring, and give them a meaningful area of responsibility with suitable support. You do not become less useful when others flourish. In Christ’s body, making room for another person is itself valuable service. The Kingdom’s work is not entrusted to your gifts alone, and that is good news.