“Them” or “Us”?

Robert B. Reich, U S Secretary of Labor from 1993-97 once spent six months visiting American workplaces, administering what he called the “pronoun test.” He explained it this way. “I ask frontline workers a few general questions about the company. If the answers I get back describe the company in terms like ‘they’ and ‘them’, then I know it’s one kind of company. If the answers are put in terms like ‘we’ or ‘us’, I know it’s a different kind of company.”

Let’s apply that test to the church here. When you think of the church and whatever is going
on, do you think “they” or “we”, “them” or “us?” God’s word states clearly that each of us has our own place in the church. The church is made up of individuals. You and I are the building blocks of the church. Christ founded it, died for it, and will return to present it to His Father. In 1 Corinthians 12:12 we are told, “The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.” Verse 14 says, “Now the body is not made up of one part but of many.” It explains that the foot is just as important as the hand and the ear as important as the eye. In verse 18 we read, “But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.” Basically, the conclusion is in verse 27, “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”

So, what pronouns do you use when you think or talk about the church? Is it “them” or “us?” Are you being the part that you can be? Anyone can say “they” ought to be doing something but it takes commitment to say, “I will do what I can do.” or “I am a part of Christ’s Body.” or “It is MY responsibility.” I read another neat little thing a long time ago. It says, “What kind of church would this church be if every member were just like me?” Interesting question.

It takes the whole church pulling together to grow. Be a part. Do your part. If you aren’t sure what your part is, ask someone for something to do. And remember, you can always ask someone to attend with you.

See you when the saints meet, Lord willing.

Love, Tony