Spine vs Rib

This week as we were studying our lesson on Psalm 133, I was captured by the idea of categorizing my faith beliefs into spine and rib issues.


Spine issues would be the backbone of my faith while rib issues do not involve matters that threaten to break the back. This is taking me some time to respond to. What are the true vertebrae and which aspects of my faith are more interpretive?


To me, the spine issues would be that there is one God who was the creator of all earth, he had one Son, Jesus who died for our sins and rose from the dead to bring us salvation. We receive salvation and grace from God through our belief in Jesus and one day will live in eternity in the presence of God. Spine issues - without them, our back is broken.


Rib issues are a little more sticky and difficult to capture. Ribs are connected to the spine, but branch outward to protect to soft organs of our body . Rib issues are the subtleties that separate us within our faith like baptizing by dunking or sprinkling, traditional hymns or contemporary rock and roll, speaking in tongues or silently meditating. Ribs are connected to the spine, and while they are not the primary support for the body, they do provide the casing that adds shape and dimension. Most importantly, the ribs provide the protection that allows the heartbeat to pulse regularly sending energy to the body.

In this political season, I am wondering if I can use this same process to break down the options presented by the candidates into spine or ribs. What issues are part of the spine of our country and which are rib issues? And how do I relate these to the backbone of my faith?