There once was a body that talked.

The head said, “Go and make disciples of all nations!”

All the parts of the body quickly agreed, but they had very different ideas about how to accomplish their task, so they just sat there arguing.

The mouth said, “Obviously this is a call to evangelize. We just need to open our mouth and speak!”

But one of the hands raised a finger and said, “Wait a minute, didn’t Jesus serve the poor and needy? It is the sacrificial acts of service that make the gospel known!”

The nose took a deep breath and said, “Let’s not forget to stop and smell the roses along the way. I fear that our faith will be fanatical and we’ll lose our sense of balance.”

The feet quickly stepped in: “What do you know of balance? We’ve been balancing this body for years! Look, we’re wasting time! Let’s just start walking and God will direct our steps!”

The eyes widened, “And who are you to speak of looking? All you ever see is the ground in front of you. We see much more from our vantage point, and we strongly urge us to watch before we leap. What good is it to move forward if we choose the wrong path?”

The ears said: “we have been patiently listening to all of you, and have noticed that none of you are hearing what the other is saying.”

“Yes,” the heart finally chimed in slowly. I have been weighing all of this very carefully as well. (All the parts of the body now stopped and listened to the heart, whom they respected greatly since he seemed to have a special connection with the head.)

“It seems to me” the heart continued, “that our differences of opinion are only natural. We are different parts of the body. If each of us were an eye, how would our body hear? And if each of us were an ear, how would our body see? But praise God that we are all wonderfully different; designed by him to fill a unique role in the body. And God has put each of us exactly where he wants us to be. So, the important thing is that we value each other’s differences and move together, keeping our hearts right with God and each other.

This seemed good and right to each of the parts of the body, and so they got up and moved forward together, finally obeying the head, which made everyone happy and resulted in much fruit and glory to God!