It’s Wednesday, November 12th, 2025. Sometimes the hardest part of following Jesus isn’t doing what He asks—it’s not doing what He never asked. It’s resisting the urge to look around and measure ourselves against everyone else. Comparison sneaks in quietly and makes us second-guess God’s design. Today’s reading reminds me that each of us carries a unique part to play—and that role is indispensable.
Today's Reading:
Job 37,38; 1 Corinthians 12
Scripture
“But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be…those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,” (1 Cor 12:18, 22)
Observation
Paul is writing to a church that had started ranking people. Some gifts looked impressive, others looked ordinary, and the Corinthians assumed God felt the same way. Paul stops all of that with one picture—the human body.
It’s not chance. Not personality. Not popularity. God assigned every part, so none of them are optional. Some might be unseen, some might feel vulnerable or less noticeable, but in God’s design, those parts carry a weight the others depend on.
Paul is gently correcting a mindset we still fall into today: thinking our value rises or falls based on how we compare to someone else. But in the body, everyone is valuable…every person is indispensable.
Application
A doctor once explained something to me that stuck. He said cancer often starts when a normal cell stops listening to the body. It forgets who it is and begins growing where it shouldn’t. The cell isn’t trying to become something grand—it’s just growing outside its purpose. And that misplaced growth hurts the whole body.
When I compare myself with someone else (their gifting, their influence, their opportunities), I start stepping outside what God gave me. I’m still trying to grow, but not where I’m called to grow. And that will never produce life.
The healthiest version of me is someone who stays faithful to the assignment God gave me. If He placed me there, He calls it indispensable.
Prayer
Lord, thank You for placing me exactly where You want me. Keep me faithful to my assignment, confident in Your design, and free from comparison. Amen.
—Chris Kiriakos