Is Surgery Needed?

I Corinthians 12:12-27


A friend of mine was having some uncomfortable and embarrassing health problems. He went to the doctor to find out what was causing them and was told that his Thyroid was not functioning properly, producing too much of certain hormones. There advice was to have a series of treatments which would destroy the thyroids functioning completely, then take supplements to replace the necessary hormones. It would be essential to replace certain of the hormones as they regulated fat storage in the body and thus helped control weight. Without them , excess weight, heart problems, type II diabetes and heart and artery trouble were almost a certainty. The treatments were successful, and his Thyroid stopped functioning, eliminating the original problem.

A hormone replacement program was instituted and for a short time everything appeared okay. Within a few days, his eyesight began to deteriorate and within about a month, he had to take off work to have his glasses changed, he was unable to drive until new glasses were finished. Less than a month later it happened again, and was repeated several times, at great expense. A new optometrist recommended special stick-on lens adapters which could be replaced within a few minutes at much lower cost. They worked, but before long they were needing replacement every other week, and were costing almost as much as the new prescriptions,

A trip to the Mayo clinic revealed that the lack of one of the hormones produced by the thyroid was causing abnormal growth of the muscles around his eyes, distorting his vision. Additional hormones and surgery corrected the problem temporarily, but as it will be impossible to exactly control the hormone level, future surgeries are likely to be needed. Other problems are also beginning to develop. While it is possible for him to live with a non-functioning thyroid, my friend now wishes he had put up with the original problem, as it was less a problem than his current state. Sadly, new treatments have been developed that might have restored normal function to his thyroid if not for the treatments he was given.

My friend’s thyroid was a needed part of his body, and the church is a body with many needed parts, as Paul explains. “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many.” (I Corinthians 12:12-14)

Sometimes people get the idea they want to perform a certain function in a church that someone else is doing and leave the church if they aren’t given the position. I Corinthians 12:15-20 describes this situation. “If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. And if they were all one member, where were the body? But now are they many members, yet but one body."

God has put every person in the church where he wanted them. A piece which separates itself from the body soon dies. It’s loss also hampers the body from functioning properly. The separation is an act of rebellion against God. Going to another church is like trying to put a transplant into a human body. It should only be attempted by a qualified surgeon. The Holy Spirit is the only qualified surgeon. When he moves someone, the side effects will be minor.

My friend decided he could get by without his thyroid. Today he wishes he had tried a different treatment. He now realizes how valuable the thyroid is, even when it doesn’t function exactly as it should. To have corrected the problems would have been much better than eliminating it. Sometimes a pastor or church decides they’d be better off without a particular member, for whatever reason. They ignore the fact that God put them there because he wanted them there for a reason.

“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. For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked: That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.” (I Corinthians 12:21-25)

What a wicked attitude that we have the right to eliminate what doesn’t please us, when God placed the person there to accomplish his purpose. Cutting off that part will nearly always destroy the part that is cut off and hurts the body from which it is removed. It is always better to heal a malfunctioning part if possible, than to amputate it, and Matthew 18:15-17 and I Corinthians 5 give directions in how to approach a situation where amputation may be needed. What affects one part affects the entire body.

“And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it. Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular” (I Corinthians 12:26-27)

Hurting or eliminating a member who doesn’t please us will hurt the entire church. Surgery in the church should only be done in the Holy Spirit’s power and direction. Too many people and churches have died as a result of unnecessary or improperly done surgery.