One of the deadly infections any local church can have is the clique. The clique can become terminal, ripping apart local churches of all sizes. It begins as most church diseases start with nearly innocent motives. It is only natural that we seek out others within the congregation to befriend us, and getting along with others is an essential part of our Christian faith.
But if we are not careful, our desire to have friends within our social circle can become harmful. Soon, cliques begin to form within the local church. The cliques are informal but carry the weight of defining how others perceive us. If left unchecked, there will become members of the congregation that become outcasts. There may not be anything they have done other than not fitting within one of the cliques. But the result is the same. The apostle Paul warns us about this very thing: That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another (1 Corinthians 12:25).
Getting along with others means…
Knowing ourselves and our nature a lot better than we think we do. I have often found myself on the outside and, without realizing it, on the inside of cliques. Many of you have had similar situations happen, too. It is human nature, a part of our natural desire, to want to be around people where we fit in. At the workplace, we find coworkers to share lunchtime with who we share something in common. It is common in every social situation we face, such as a social club, organization, or a gathering of friends. Therefore, it makes sense we should do the same thing in the church we attend.
But the church is not to be like any other place we belong or situation we find ourselves, and the local New Testament church is to function by a different set of instructions – the Lord’s. Both the apostles Paul and James understood the importance of not allowing the local church to fall into this trap of favorites and outcasts forming within the body of Christ. We all want to be a part of something where we feel we are a valued part of, cherished, and where we are genuinely missed if we are not there. This idea is what the church is supposed to be for all its members.
Seeing the value of other church members
The apostle Paul wrote a lot on this very topic, especially to the early Christians at Corinth. For the body is not one member, but many (1 Corinthians 12:14) is a reminder. When considered with another verse, But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him (1 Corinthians 12:18), the meaning is clear. Every person who is a member of a local church was placed there by Christ Jesus himself. Sure, some may be weeds among the wheat, but we can’t tell the difference. We cannot judge the heart; only Jesus can see the heart.
We need to see the value of others and ourselves within the local church. We don’t know the intentions buried within someone’s heart. Paul wrote: And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary: And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness (1 Corinthians 1:12-21-23).
In other words, we don’t get to decide who is worthy to be a part of the church.
Loving others equally
This part is probably the hardest thing for us to do, and it goes against our very nature. We find it difficult to reach out to others when we do not see anything we have in common with them. Again, Paul did write about this in his first letter to the Corinthians. That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it (1 Corinthians 12:25-26).
Paul is reminding us we should care for others in our church equally. It doesn’t matter if we share things in common or not. If they are members of the church we regularly attend, there should be no difference in how we treat them. We should rejoice with those we consider as friends just as much as those we barely know. And we should weep with those we barely know just as we do with those we know when hardship strikes. If we want to live out our local assembly of believers being one body, we must put it into practice not just when we meet – but daily.
