Biblical Body Building
On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty. 1 Corinthians 12:22-23 ESV
Unpresentable parts – Paul’s body analogy contains some rather embarrassing implications. First, Paul suggests that the apparently weaker parts of any assembly under the Messiah are indispensible. That blows a very big hole in the male hierarchy view of the Church. Paul follows this thought with the claim that we give greater honor to those who appear to have less honor. Wham! Another nail in the coffin of male domination. Anyone who still claims that men are superior by divine edict must reject Paul’s view of the assembly.
But Paul isn’t finished yet. Now he treats the “unpresentable” parts. After all, the body, the physical body as the foundation of Paul’s analogy, has some indispensable parts that are not appropriate topics of polite conversation. We all know they are absolutely necessary. In fact, if they stop functioning properly, we get very sick and could die. But they are embarrassing to talk about. Paul doesn’t overlook these part either. They are essential. And they have assembly-body analogies. The word Paul chose is aschemon. It means “unmentionable.” But we all know what he is saying. Now look how he applies this to the body of Messiah.
aschemon is the negative of a two-word Greek combination. It is literally “not holding a shape.” In other words, aschemon means “ugly.” This is something that lacks beautiful form, something that shows defect, something that no sculptor (except maybe Picasso) would consider fine art. What does Paul say about those “ugly” parts of the assembly? They are vitally important. We just treat them with euschemosynen (translated as “modesty). But euschemosyne is also a combination word. It comes from eu (meaning “good”) and schema (meaning “external fashion or condition”). Ah, so how do we treat the “ugly” parts of the body? Simple. As if they were the good parts.
Let’s apply Paul’s lesson. In our Greek based culture, beauty is queen. That means hard body, voluptuous, ripped, young, tight, good-looking knock-down gorgeous. A fit body in a fit mind. Just look at our cultural heroes and heroines. Any fat, ugly people there? Anyone dressing like bums? Any misshaped, flabby, old icons in the tabloids of the culture? Of course not. We are Greek and we have Greek ideals. But in the assembly of the King? Do we allow our Greek ideals to reign among God’s chosen? Are we just as quick to give honor to the “ugly”? Do we recognize them as essential, important and worthy of respect? Take a serious look around when you gather. Who leads? Who is honored? Who is respected? Just how much of God’s non-Greek ideal is part of your assembly?
Want a Torah-life lesson? Find someone “unpresentable” and put your arms around them. Tell them you couldn’t be what God wants without them.
Topical Index: aschemon, ugly, euschemosyne, presentable, 1 Corinthians 12:22-23
LIBRARY BOOKS: Looks like I created a bit of work for myself. I am glad to provide those of you who requested books (first come-first served in the order of emails received). But I am here in the USA for only 1 more week with lots to do, so please be patient. I intend to get them all in the mail before I go, and I will send you a note about what the shipping costs were for the ones you get. Then please just make a one-time donation to At God’s Table via PayPal (skipmoen.com/donate) for the amount. Please follow up without a reminder since I will be in Indonesia. Thanks very much. I am happy to be able to help each of you.
Skip
Perhaps being “unpresentable” is not just about appearance — how do we accept those who are mentally ill, or otherwise difficult to get along with because of behavioral disorders like autism? In my experience, too often, there is estrangement and distance and even fearfulness of the person and family, when behavior is outside the socially approved norms.
Yes I agree with you Suzanne. But, when I take a broad look at our society in general, especially historically, I think most people of power and renown are in fact “Not” what we would call “hard body, voluptuous, ripped, young, tight, good-looking knock-down gorgeous” people at all. In fact most of our brightest minds, political figures, musicians, scholars, teachers, artists, poets etc. are in fact, using Skip’s words, ugly, fat and the complete opposite of beautiful by any definition.
Even in my own fellowship, most the leadership are short, over weight, old or just simply not beautiful people. Good people, yes, respected people, absolutely but, not what I’d call pretty people. And I see that to be the case in the majority of fellowships that I’ve been too.
Again, I agree with what your saying Suzanne, by and large. It’s also my opinion though, that people in general, are uncomfortable with people’s behavioral disorders, mental illnesses etc., because they don’t understand them. Most people fear the things they don’t know or know about. Maybe even they fear that those things could possibly effect them or those whom they love.
I’m not trying to justify people’s “bad behavior” to those that are less fortunate, whatever that may entail, I’m just giving my opinion of what I see around me and as a country in general. True that there are particular areas, towns, and social groups etc., where the majority are what we could call “fit body in a fit mind” but, as a whole, I just don’t see that as the norm or as a majority. Not even close.
I have no argument at all that most of the people are not the ideal image. But it’s not the reality that influences us. It’s the ideal, the perceived fantasy. Why do you suppose the weight loss business is so lucrative? Why are the runway models idolized? It’s fantasy, the Greek ideal, that drives the culture. The fact that we don’t actually see it in the world is simply a statement that causes despair for Greek paradigm proponents. After all, does the government tell us how we should look?
Oh, this one should be obvious. The worst is the place: the only place, in fact (I think, anyway), that has the potential to bring out the best in us. If it does not, it is likewise going to be quite obvious. The worst situation is either going to show us off in a good way, or in a bad way. No middle ground. No place to hide. And that would include the ‘worst’ of people for sure.
In agriculture, the sweetness factor in a plant is referred to as the brix factor. It determines how much of a certain feed livestock will want to eat, and how much of a fruit or vegetable we are going to want to eat, too. Our tongues were created to detect sweet because sweet is not only a test of ripeness, which is important because unripe fruit is not as digestible, but also because when a fruit or vegetable is at the peak of ripeness, it has more nutrients, namely, minerals. It takes a high mineral content to produce and support that sugar. (Next time your ‘sweet tooth’ is acting up, you might wish to consider that what your body is crying out for, and looking for, is not necessarily calories, but minerals.) So what creates a sweet plant? Well, surprisingly, it is not just an indicator of how much mineral reserves are available to that plant. A plant is going to choose to draw extra minerals to support itself under certain conditions. What conditions are these? Any farmer knows that the biggest condition that produces sweetness, or brix,
is going to be stress of some sort on that plant. Drought, wind, harsh sun, insect pressures, crowding, etc. Hmmmm That plant is going to leave the minerals it does not perceive it ‘needs’ to support itself in those sub-optimal conditions in the ground. It is an efficiency of design.
Wanna fun factoid? If you can remember at least a half century ago, can you remember how produce used to taste? Do you just chalk up the difference to aging taste buds? Well, the average ear of table corn that long ago had a mineral content of about 5%. Today, it is only a fraction of a percent. That tomato of yesteryear that was so memorable? Then, it had about 1500 units of iron. Today, it will typically have only about 5. And on it goes. Our soils are depleted of minerals, and, further, we force our plants to grow rapidly and breed them to grow in conditions that a plant bred better would have the sense to up and die rather than perpetuate fruit and offspring, because those conditions are so poor.
I think there are parallels to be drawn here. I think our places of worship, and our belief system options, too, have been watered down to make our spiritual growth easy for us in suboptimal conditions. But I think it may have come at a price, and that price is that the minerals of the Law, that we need to make us strong in hard places, are missing, so we have less to draw on in those places. Love that is easy is also going to be love that cannot hold water in the storm. It is going to be a love that passes the person or situation in a ditch on the other side of the way, or at least is going to excite curiosity and alienation that we use to distance ourselves from the ugliness, or formlessness, of others. I believe that form follows function; that beauty is determined by how useful something or someone is. A low-function place, therefore, is going to appear non-desirable. We all like to hang with the winners, because things are just going to be functioning better near those places. But when we are a Body, it changes. In our bodies, when a system is weak, there is going to be a compensatory reaction by every other cell in a body to that weakness; the rest of the body is going to shore up the problem. A leak in the boat is a problem for everybody! Likewise, our entire planet hangs or falls together. It is definitely an issue with us in the Body, because we have been given a Medium of exchange, namely the Holy Spirit, that hooks us all up together, for better or worse. We ARE going to be affected by all our parts. IF those parts are dead, then we are going to be chained to that corpse. Oops, time to get moving!
When we have deep reserves of the building blocks of love to draw on; when the minerals of the Law are in our hearts and hands, we have what it takes to go that extra mile with any and everyone we see. We have what it takes to make us a sweet savor to the Lord. And to each other. If we find ourselves heading to the other side of the road, on the other hand, perhaps it may be time to go back and take another look at that Law….
Something for me to chew on this morning.
As For Us
Should we/ shall we judge the book by its cover? lol! (Yes) man looks on the “outward appearance,” (often fool’s gold!) – BUT (again, love those Bible buts!) the LORD looks (where?) – on the heart.
What do the scriptures say?
~ When they entered, he looked at Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’S anointed is before Him.” But the LORD said to Samuel,
“Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16.7)
And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are these all the children?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and behold, he is tending the sheep.” Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.”..
Who (he inquired) ended up as “the chosen One?” ~ For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise [according to the flesh], not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are.. (Why?)
Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him..
~ Who foils the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners, – Who overthrows the learning of the wise and turns it into nonsense? ~
(Isaiah 44.25)
Why?
-so that no man [no flesh] may boast before God.. (1 Corinthians 1.29)
King David recognized: ~ It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. [Therefore, we will] ~ Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. [Therefore, we will] give thanks to Him, and bless His Name..~
~ For who makes you different from anyone else? – What do you have that you did not receive? ~
For He says to Moses,
“I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” (Romans 9.15)
~ Ask, and you will receive.. ~
~ Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits;
Who pardons all your iniquities?,
Who heals all your diseases?
Who redeems your life from the pit?,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion?..
~ (Yes) – It is the LORD!! ~
Wow, that is a long way away, Skip. ABBA with you for a safe and pleasant trip, and a fulfilling ministry in Indonesia. May the folks there be much enriched and delivered by your insightful teachings. They are so blessed. Amein!
Inner beauty of maturity in spirit with the fruit of kindness, wisdom and understanding is of better value than external beauty, though YHWH takes pleasure in beauty as seen in all His creation.
May we be transformed and restored to the beauty we were created in.Amein!
We have such a need for that in this world of crookedness and distorted views/opinions and perversions.