self-mutilation

Tuesday January 29^th, 1 Corinthians 12: 15 Suppose a foot says, "I'm not a hand, and so I'm not part of the body." Wouldn't the foot still belong to the body? 16 Or suppose an ear says, "I'm not an eye, and so I'm not part of the body." Wouldn't the ear still belong to the body? 17 If our bodies were only an eye, we couldn't hear a thing. And if they were only an ear, we couldn't smell a thing. 18 But God has put all parts of our body together in the way that he decided is best.  No matter how we try to draw lines, no matter how we try to exclude others, no matter what glorious, thoughtful and righteous arguments we use, whether we like it or not we are still all part of the body of Christ.  Discussion on laws to limit the rights others based on their sexual orientation may sound like a righteous discussion, but they are still part of the body of Christ.  Putting Bible Verses on gun sights (http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/us-military-weapons-inscribed-secret-jesus-bible-codes/story?id=9575794) for our solders does not make the person on the other end of that sight any more or less righteous than the person using the sight, they are both part of the family of God. There is no such thing as a “holy” war. Moreover, each time we draw one of those lines, one of those distinctions, we are only deceiving ourselves.  With that imaginary line we are on one side and Christ is on the other.  Most would consider self-mutilation a form of sickness that needs to be treated, all too often within the body of Christ is it the norm.