It used to be Calvinism/Arminianism, method of baptism, style of worship, size of a church, the nature of hell etc. These days you can throw in Vax/No-vax, mask/no-mask, even Republican/Democrat as the fishbones that can divide the body. Fishbones as defined by Spurgeon as all those untidy little things that can have us at each other's throats (figuratively of course)! What else can we say about these things? Oh yeah, they're non-essentials; where you stand on them has no bearing on your salvation. Where you stand on Jesus Christ does have bearing!
It's funny how I used to get more worked up about these very fishbones until I had an epiphany. Maybe not such an epiphany, since it was the realization of what a hypocrite I am. I have and still do engage in social intercourse with people all over the spectrum relating to all manner of personal stances. What I mean is that your views on most anything (if I'm even aware) from abortion to women in the military, your religion (or lack of), personal habits, occupation, etc.; are of no interest to me if they are not the reason we are interacting. We may be playing a sport, riding motorcycles, attending a Trump rally (ah, those were the days) or any number of things where these topics don't come up. If we're focused on sharing a mutually enjoyable activity, who cares.
Oh, but how that will change at church! Now everything you do and think that runs contrary to where I stand on the afore-mentioned fishbones matters a lot! I can ignore all these as we're winding down the road on our Harleys with the wind in our hair (if we still have it), but don't tell me we can worship under the same roof if you think someone can lose their salvation, when clearly, they can't (just jokes folks, I'm not trying to start another post here). But why should that be? How screwed up is it that riding a stupid motorcycle (my wife's perspective; she's not wrong) allows us to extend grace to others that differ from us, but when our main focus is worshipping our Lord, we're all about being fruit inspectors? Oh yeah, we're generally pretty messed up, makes sense.
There's a line in Remember the Titans (highly recommended BTW) where Denzel Washington lauds one of his players for being a "...self-aware man". I like to think one of the ways God is working out my sanctification is by increasing my self-awareness of my sin, or at least, my foibles. My progress in this area has been predicated on two realizations: that what others do with their fishbones is their business and I am just as guilty of thinking my own fishbones are really fillets.
There is an old adage about people often needing reminding more than education. It's not a knock on education as without education, there would be very little to be reminded about. More of a general observation that the basic, bedrock things like reading, writing, arithmetic, manners and such can easily be neglected at the expense of "higher" education. I believe this is even more applicable in Christian circles where what Christ did on the Cross is lost in "higher" theological fishbones that many tend to get tangled in. Many (I know I still do) enjoy wrangling with others (iron sharpens iron, right?) on issues either unexplainable this side of Glory or need the minds of Macarthur, Sproul, or C.S. Lewis to explain. Iron can sharpen iron, but it also can dull it if not done properly. We run the risk of dulling our senses to the simple and wonderful message of the Cross when we spend too much time grinding away at concepts, often advanced by men.
Not coincidentally, my growth in this area has been bolstered by our fairly recent discovery of a new church. We have become more immersed here than probably any other church we've attended. Being involved in an adult fellowship group has helped me realize the importance of similarities and often the unimportance of differences. It illuminates that basic Christian tenet that we are all made in the image of Christ, and we all have our strengths and weaknesses (reminding right?). It is a Baptist church, but large enough to be comprised of many different demographics and political leanings. Therefore, fishbones are everywhere! So, when someone asks me if I'm pre-trib, post trib, KJV, NIV, ESV, paper or plastic; you know what my response will be: Forget About It!
