THE INSIGNIFICANT NAIL
A congregation built a new church building, and people came from far and wide to see it. They admired its beauty! Up on the roof, a little nail heard the people praising everything about the lovely structure--except the nail! No one even knew he was there, and he became angry and jealous. "If I am that insignificant, nobody will miss me if I quit!" So the nail then released its hold, slid down the roof, and fell in the mud.
That night it rained and rained. Soon, the shingle that had no nail blew away, and the roof began to leak. The water streaked the walls and the beautiful murals. The plaster began to fall, the carpet was stained, and the pulpit Bible was ruined by water. All this because a little nail decided to quit!
What became of the nail? While holding the shingle, it was obscure but it was also useful. Buried in the mud it was just as obscure, but now it was useless and would soon be eaten up by rust!
In our Bible class study of 1 Corinthians, we recently discussed Paul’s analogy between the body of Christ and the human body found in chapter 12. He states that as the human body has many members but is one body, so also is the body of Christ. Paul is not speaking here, as some conclude today, about the various denominations all being a part of the body of Christ. How could he have been speaking about such considering denominationalism did not exist at that time? He is simply talking about the individual people who are members of Christ’s body, or His church.
Perhaps you have felt like this nail at times, obscure, insignificant and neglected. Paul is telling you that is not the case. There is no such thing as an unimportant Christian. Just as it takes all parts of the human body to function at its greatest potential, so it is with the body of Christ. That one little nail quit doing its job and it lead to the destruction of the building. The same can happen with the church.
I believe we sometimes contribute to a person’s feelings of insignificance, although most of the time we may not be aware. We talk to the same people before and after services. We go to dinner with the same people after services. We visit and socialize with the same people. Meanwhile, someone is standing aside, feeling alone and neglected. When we start planning activities and works of the church we rely on the same people to get it going. Again, this person, who may have a special talent in the work being done, is left in the background. Perhaps they are wondering, “Why won’t they let me get involved, why won’t they let me in?”
As I said earlier, many times this is done we are not aware of what is happening. I have known of situations where the group was waiting for the individual to get involved while the individual was waiting to be asked to get involved. Whatever the reason, let’s all make a conscious effort to make sure no one feels insignificant, neglected, or alone.
Every member of the body is important.
--Lamar
