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We should be kind to our community and its establishments because it is our livelihood. If I’ve learned anything about this time I’ve noticed that we truly need our local establishments. And some of this in me is because of coming from a small town, and living and ministering in a smaller community.
We should take pride in the local establishments within our community because they are what make up part of our routine, and they are the way others make a living. Without our patronage the working people wouldn’t make a living and without those people working we wouldn’t have the services we need. It takes everyone doing their part to keep our communities running.
Police officers protect our city, government officials provide boundaries, and construction workers keep our communities advancing. As a church body we should continually pray for the establishments we don’t work for. Because even when we don’t notice, they are affecting our lifestyle.
Just think about the businesses we need during this stay home order, and those businesses that have been deemed non-essential. I’m fairly certain, to the workers of those businesses, the paycheck they normally earn is fairly essential.
Romans 12:3-8 (NIV) For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your[a] faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
The body of Christ has many members who all have different functions. The emphasis being that it’s okay to serve in different capacities. Just like in a physical body our ligaments, body parts, and internal organs all do something drastically different. Yet all have the same goal of keeping our entire body healthy.
In the same way the members of the body of Christ keep the church healthy, and our communities healthy, if they continue to serve in their respective gifts.
As Christians it can become easy to feel as if everyone should be in full-time ministry, in order to serve the community well. Nothing could be further from the truth.
However, when Christians make up the professional workplace as accountants, firefighters, bakers, grocery store clerks, wedding coordinators, and the list goes on and on, we have the chance to show God’s love to people in our communities who may not know the Lord.
We depend upon each other more than we truly know. We each need to find our gift and then – start working out of our strengths. When we love each other and work together supporting our communities, God gets all of the glory.