What's Your Kingdom I. Q.?
by Bobby Rayburn, Minister of Spiritual Formation
Broadmoor Baptist Church, Baton Rouge

Not long after the I.Q. (Intelligence Quotient) test was developed, several studies were conducted to find out how different groups of people scored on the test as groups. The test was administered to men and women, young and old, rich and poor, and many ethnic groups as well. It was in this context that the I.Q. test was given to a group of Native Americans from the Hopi Tribe.

When the Hopi received the test, they immediately started to ask each other questions and to compare their answers. The instructor saw this happening, and quickly intervened, telling them that they each had to take the test alone.
“You are not permitted to help each other or to share your answers among yourselves,” he told them.

When the Hopi heard this, they were outraged and refused to take the test, saying, “It is not important that I am smarter than my brother or sister, or that they are smarter than me. It is only important what we can do together.”

Unfortunately, we live in a world that puts a big emphasis on what we do alone. As a result, we suffer from all sorts of maladies: low self-esteem, competitiveness, jealousy, greed, anger, and hostility, to name a few.

But God created us to live in community with each other – to work together, to share our resources with each other, to help each other out. The principle is love, not competitiveness and greed. In the Body of Christ, no one is greater or more important than anyone else (see 1 Corinthians 12). Christianity is not a religion for “Lone
Rangers.” We really do need each other.

That’s the beauty of the church. The people of God come together in spite of their diversity and become the forever family of God. We become one in Christ. And our unity comes not because we are all alike or because everyone is instantly compatible, but because of what God has done and is doing in our community of faith.