Strength
is praised. Strength is honored. Strength is respected. Strength is
loved.
Those
who have it are idolized and worshiped. What is it? It could be
physical strength, it could be smarts and ingenuity, or a raw
determination driving one relentlessly onward in spite of setbacks.
But what of those who have none of these?
They
are obviously the losers. The idiots. The flawed and imperfect. Those
who didn't make enough of the right choices. Those who just couldn't
be winners even when they tried. Those who have no place in the
world. Because success belongs only to the best.
Weakness
is despised. Weakness is scorned. Weakness is mocked. Weakness is
even hated.
Weakness
is pushed around, scapegoated, looked down on, shunned. To some, it's
the biggest crime there ever was. No one wants it around. No one
wants to be it either. But there it is, all around us and within us.
The
world presents to us this twisted choice – force yourself above
your circumstances, or just end your life. Because those without the
will to press on deserve death, I suppose.
But there is another choice.
Either
you can join the throngs in their rat race for power and control –
or you can enter the narrow path of love and peace.
The
beast inside us screams for justice. It can't take humiliation, it
can't take being falsely accused, or misjudged. Above all, it can't
admit its own weaknesses. But when the beast is let loose, and you
fight tooth and claw for your own dignity, you lose what dignity you
had. If the beast loses the fight you are humiliated tenfold. If the
beast wins the fight you become nothing more than the monster you
believed your accusers to be, feeding the endless cycle of crushing
and being crushed. When the beast is loosed, someone will always have
to suffer.
Leave
it be. Let the proud destroy themselves, as they will sooner or
later. Suffer the humiliation, admit to yourself your own
shortcomings. Then recall the words of Jesus,
“Blessed
are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God,”
“Blessed
are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
“Blessed
are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Jesus,
we are told by the apostle Paul, was 'beset with weakness.' He grew
weary at times, he was overcome often by emotion, and we are even
told he was tempted. Weakness in the Bible is portrayed as human
limitations, such as sickness or physical challenges, and temptation
is the pull to give in to forces that would overcome you, such as
tiredness or pleasing distractions.
“See
not that you fall into temptation,” he told his drowsy disciples
when they were supposed to keep watch. “For the spirit is willing,
but the flesh is weak.”
Yet
while Jesus never gave in to temptation, he still suffered from human
weakness, being fully human even as he was fully God. The difference
between his and ours, however, is that he chose it. He chose to give
up his Godly power and dignity. He chose to put himself at the mercy
of his enemies. He let them falsely accuse him and sentence him to
death. He let them nail him to a cross. He accepted death, and gave
up his spirit. He rendered himself helpless – and in doing so
conquered not Rome, but Death
itself, rising from the dead at the last.
What
does this show us about the truth of strength? That it is a gift both
given and taken by God, to be used in his name rather than in the
name of self-conceit, because he created us and is master of Life and
Death.
What
does this show us about weakness? That we must accept the challenges
God has thrown our way, and remember that if we don't lose heart, we
will reap in due season (Galatians 6:9). That for those who endure,
God has prepared the crown of life (James 1:12). Because those who
praise strength more than they praise God will someday die and
disappear, but God will always exist.
So
what do we do in the meantime?
Remember
that everyone has been given gifts, that there exists not Strength,
but strengths, in all forms and in any area, because we are a diverse
and complimentary community.
Romans
12:6-8: “We have different gifts, according to the grace given to
each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance
with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching,
then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is
giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if
it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.”
Don't
believe anyone who tells you you're weak. Even if we can't do what
someone else can, we all have our own strengths, even if you or they
can't see it at the moment. As Jesus commanded, be kind to your
enemies, and serve them out of love, not in fear and without
resentment. Without fear, because while man can harm and kill the
body, God can throw both the soul and the body into hell. Without
resentment, because it's the sick who need a physician, not the
healthy. Those who don't know the power of love need someone to show
it to them.
You
don't know where your own strength lies? Seek and you will find. Pray
about it, and remember you're a human being made in God's image.
Your
own strength is in you, just waiting to be realized.
