Weakness in Christian preaching often highlights human frailty and the paradox of strength through dependence on God. It illustrates how admitting our limitations opens the way for divine power to work within us, reflecting the Apostle Paul's declaration that God's power is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). Such illustrations commonly use images of frail vessels or brokenness that reveal God's sustaining strength (2 Corinthians 12:10).
Human weakness requires God's sustaining hand to prevent failure and fainting.
It is with us as with children learning to walk, who can stand up no longer than they are held by the hand; or those who are learning to swim, who sink to the bottom as soon as they are left alone. If God does not hold us up, we shall faint, and fail utterly.
Weakness invites God's strength, making the weak truly strong in Him.
Weakness always appeals to our sympathy. Ask the careful mother which child receives the greatest share of her thought and attention. It is not the one who is strong, and able to take care of himself, but the sickly and weak one, that is pressed closest to the mother's heart. So with God. Oh, ye trembling ones, take heart! Your weakness is your strength. "When I am weak, then am I strong."
God's strength is made perfect in our weakness, as shown in Jacob's wrestling.
Jacob, a wrestled-with man. His confidence in the flesh was strong. Angel touches the seat of his strength to bring him to end of himself. When we are weak then we are strong (v. 26)
The key to the mystery of strength in weakness is the Cross of Christ. We are not fatalistic. Life has a paradoxical doubleness to it.
Three varieties of weakness:
1. Weakness of being second fiddle. Servanthood.
2. Weakness of being creatures.
3. Weakness of sin and its effects. We do not have to accept the "dark side."
Strength comes from the attitude, "Thy will be done."
In the spring of 1991, even before the brief coup in August, Soviet leader
Mikhail Gorbachev found his authority and leadership tested on all sides.
From Baltic states declaring their independence, to conservatives clamoring
for a return to old-line communism, to progressives pushing for more economic
reforms, the Soviet Union was a nation on the brink.
Things were coming to a head when demonstrators planned a massive march on
Thursday March 28 in Moscow itself to show their opposition to government
policy, hoping that 500,000 people would participate. The Kremlin banned
demonstrations, issued dire warnings against protestors, and promised a
massive show of force if the ban was defied. On everyone's mind was the
peaceful January demonstration in Lithuania that was crushed by Soviet tanks
and troops, in the process killing fourteen people.
On the day of the march, 50,000 troops and police crowded Moscow; 100,000
people ignored the ban and marched. Fortunately there were no clashes, but,
commenting on short-wave radio, a BBC correspondent described Gorbachev's show
of force as "a display of strength that showed considerable weakness."
The following day Christians worldwide celebrated Good Friday, the day when
Christ voluntarily went to the cross and allowed his own creation to torture
and kill him. A display of weakness that showed considerable strength. #1824
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David Thomas' daughter received a document of almost infinite worth to a typical fifteen-year-old: a learner's permit for driving. Shortly thereafter, David accompanied her as she drove for the first time.
In the passenger seat, having no steering wheel and no brakes, was the father, in her hands - a strange feeling for a parent, both disturbing and surprisingly satisfying.
As she looked to see whether the road was clear, they slowly pulled away from the curb. Meanwhile, Mr. Thomas checked to determine not only that, but to see if the sky was falling or the earth quaking. If getting from here to there was the only thing that mattered, he would gladly have taken the wheel. But there were other matters of importance here, most of them having to do with his own paternal "letting go."
He experienced a strange combination of weakness and power. His understanding of weakness was simple: she was in control, he was not. But she was able to move to this level of adulthood because of what David's wife and he had done. Their power had empowered her. Her newfound strength was attained from them. So as they pulled away from the curb, they all gained in stature.
When Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated, he instinctively threw up his hand in the Hindu gesture of forgiveness. Gandhi understood what Jesus was about, or else he never could have said, "The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is an attribute of the strong."
The Kingdom is not just for "cool people." Here are the facts of the
gospel:
1. God uses real people.
2. God uses sinners.
His grace is revealed in sinners.
3. God uses wimps.
4. God uses misfits.
5. The people God uses.
Moral, physical, and social weaknesses share something in common.
All three are pins that prick the balloon of our self-importance.
All are magnifying glasses which reveal every spot and stain of
pride. Our weaknesses are megaphones that shout, "This person is
nothing without God!" Therefore our ministry must focus on real
people.
#2862
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Are you a weak Christian if you struggle with temptation?
1. Why is my conscience bothering me?
2. Am I a weak Christian because I struggle with temptation?
3. Can I turn my weakness into strength?
4. Is there anything I can do to end the struggle?
5. What will happen if I listen to my feelings?
6. How can I find the strength to be obedient?
7. Must I change my feelings before I can obey God?
8. Do I believe in God's promises?
#3876
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A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on each end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the masters house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water in his masters house.
Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do. After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream.
“I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you.”
“Why?” asked the bearer. “What are you ashamed of?”
“I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your masters house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don’t get full value from your efforts,” the pot said.
The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, “As we return to the masters house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path.” Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again the Pot apologized to the bearer for its failure.
The bearer said to the pot, “Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path, but not on the other pot’s side? That’s because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you’ve watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my masters table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house.”
Each of us has our own unique flaws. We are all cracked pots. In God’s great economy, nothing goes to waste. Don’t be afraid of your flaws. Acknowledge them, and you too can be the cause of beauty. Know that in our weakness we find our strength.
(author unknown)
#4489
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The classical Pauline passage on illness (2 Cor 12:7-10) is in this respect
most striking of all, in that Paul's "thorn in the flesh" remained with the
apostle despite even the most intensive prayer for its removal. Paul states
three reasons for its existence:
To keep him from becoming proud due of his revelations and visions (v 7);
To enable him to experience the power of Christ (v 9);
To teach him the true purpose of hardships, persecutions, and personal
difficulties (v 10).
Indeed, the entire passage is more concerned with the power and grace of the
Lord than with the weakness of the apostle. Physical infirmity is evidence
that the body "is sown in weakness" (1 Cor 15:43) and is a cogent reminder of
the creature's dependence upon the Creator.
In this respect, the case of Paul is remarkably like that of Jacob, who
learned to depend totally upon God only after he had been inflicted with a
physical injury (Gen 32:24-32). These instances of illness suggest that the
real issue in the matter of human suffering is man's relationship to God
rather than his own physical condition, as painful as that may be.
*
Not long ago, Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura made headlines when he called religion "a sham and a crutch for weak-minded people." He then chastised the faithful for "[sticking] their noses in other's people's business."
Plenty have people have been setting Ventura straight -- and for good reason. There's plenty of evidence proving that the world is a far better place when the faithful do, as the former wrestler put it, stick their noses in other people's business.
Ventura's comments appeared in Playboy, a magazine that's not exactly known for sympathizing with religious concerns. When the magazine hit print, the former wrestler was taken to task by liberals and conservatives alike. Washington Post columnist E. J. Dionne reminded Ventura that many American social movements, such as the anti-slavery and civil rights movements, were started by people of faith.
The fact is that, through the centuries, churches have carried on a tradition of promoting the social good. They've founded schools, built hospitals and orphanages, and ministered to those in prison.
In other words, even if Christianity WERE a "sham" and a "crutch," it would be in a society's best interest to encourage piety, because people of faith help build liberal societies. Yet the stereotype persists of Christians as repressive and ILLiberal.
One person who could give Ventura and like-minded cynics a crash course on religion's influence is Guenter Lewy of the University of Massachusetts. Lewy is the author of the recent book Why America Needs Religion.
Interestingly, Lewy is neither a Christian nor a theist. He originally set out to write a book with the opposite thesis: Why America DOESN'T need religion. It was to be "a defense of secular humanism and ethical relativism."
But when Lewy researched the data, he reversed himself 180 degrees. Lewy discovered that Christianity has historically been a strong support for human dignity and social justice. He also discovered how faith makes a difference in the lives of so-called "weak-minded" people. Lewy found that Christians exhibit measurably lower rates of marital conflict, divorce, prejudice, out-of-wedlock births, juvenile delinquency, adult crime, and other "indicators of moral failure and social ills." Though remaining a nonbeliever, Lewy concluded that Christianity is vital to creating a healthy, humane society.
Lewy's research points to one reason why Christians are motivated to seek reform in the public arena: Objective evidence shows that living by biblical principles makes people happier and healthier.
We Christians know that we are called to be agents not only of God's saving grace, for redemption, but also of His common grace. He intends for us to works toward a just and humane social order -- one that reflects the great liberal ideals.
As Lewy demonstrates, it is Christians who worship a God who became poor so that we might become eternally rich. And it is Christians who are on the side of the poor and exploited.
That's why Christians should never tire of trying to persuade their secular neighbors that the principles we espouse truly are the foundation for a humane society.
And that's why -- whether Jesse Ventura likes it or not -- Christians ought to keep "sticking their noses in other people's business."
It's a truly liberal thing to do.
___________________________
Copyright (c) 1999 Prison Fellowship Ministries. Reprinted with permission. "BreakPoint with Chuck Colson" is a radio ministry of Prison Fellowship Ministries.
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WEAKNESS OR STRENGTH
Sometimes your biggest weakness can become your
biggest strength. Take, for example, the story
of one 10-year-old boy who decided to study judo
despite the fact that he had lost his left arm in
a devastating car accident.
The boy began lessons with an old Japanese judo master.
The boy was doing well, so he couldn't understand why,
after three months of training, the master had taught him
only one move.
"Sensei," the boy finally said, "shouldn't I be learning
more moves?"
"This is the only move you know, but this is the only move
you'll ever need to know," the sensei replied.
Not quite understanding, but believing in his teacher, the
boy kept training.
Several months later, the sensei took the boy to his
first tournament. Surprising himself, the boy easily
won his first two matches. The third match proved to
be more difficult, but after some time, his opponent
became impatient and charged; the boy deftly used his
one move to win the match. Still amazed by his success,
the boy was now in the finals.
This time, his opponent was bigger, stronger, and more
experienced. For a while, the boy appeared to be overmatched.
Concerned that the boy might get hurt, the referee called
a time-out. He was about to stop the match when the sensei
intervened.
"No," the sensei insisted, "Let him continue."
Soon after the match resumed, his opponent made a critical
mistake: he dropped his guard. Instantly, the boy used his
move to pin him. The boy had won the match and the tournament.
He was the champion.
On the way home, the boy and sensei reviewed every move in
each and every match. Then the boy summoned the courage to
ask what was really on his mind.
"Sensei, how did I win the tournament with only one move?"
"You won for two reasons," the sensei answered. "First,
you've almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in
all of judo. Second, the only known defense for that move
is for your opponent to grap your left arm."
The boy's biggest weakness had become his biggest strength.
I read recently the story of a 10-year-old boy who decided to study judo
despite the fact that he had lost his left arm in a devastating car
accident.
The boy began lessons with an old Japanese judo master. The boy was doing
well, so he couldn't understand why, after three months of training, the
master had taught him only one move.
"Sensei," the boy finally said, "Shouldn't I be learning more moves?"
"This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you'll ever need
to know," the sensei replied. Not quite understanding, but believing in
his teacher, the boy kept training.
Several months later, the sensei took the boy to his first tournament.
Surprising himself, the boy easily won his first two matches. The third
match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, his opponent became
impatient and charged; the boy deftly used his one move to win the match.
Still amazed by his success, the boy was now in the finals. This time, his
opponent was bigger, stronger, and more experienced. For a while, the boy
appeared to be overmatched. Concerned that the boy might get hurt, the
referee called a time-out. He was about to stop the match when the sensei
intervened. "No," the sensei insisted, "Let him continue."
Soon after the match resumed, his opponent made a critical mistake: he
dropped his guard. Instantly, the boy used his move to pin him. The boy
had won the match and the tournament. He was the champion.
On the way home, the boy and the sensei reviewed every move in each and
every match. Then the boy summoned the courage to ask what was really on
his mind: "Sensei, how did I win the tournament with only one move?"
"You won for two reasons," the sensei answered. "First, you've almost
mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. And second, the
only known defense for that move is for your opponent to grab your left
arm."
The boy's biggest weakness had become his biggest strength.
We don't often view our weaknesses in the same way, but we should. I am
reminded of the time that Paul prayed fervently for God to remove some
affliction unknown to us, what he called a "thorn in the flesh." Refusing
to remove it, God said to Paul, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my
strength is made perfect in weakness." (2 Cor. 12:9).
That seems to make no sense, and yet we see throughout the Bible how God is
able to work despite the weaknesses of men and women, showing forth his
power -- David with his small stature against Goliath the giant, Gideon a
man of no significant background leading a greatly outnumbered band of men,
Jesus taking on humanity in the form of a helpless baby. In fact, the
greatest demonstrations of God's power have come when men and women have
felt the weakest. Remember that the next time you feel inadequate.
"Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the
power of Christ may rest upon me....For when I am weak, then I am strong."
(2 Cor. 12:9b-10).
Have a great weekend!
Alan Smith
Boone church of Christ
Boone, NC
John was a young man who had a severe stuttering problem. His one
desire was to become a minister of the gospel. "You will never be
able to be a minister," his father told him. "Your stuttering problem
is too great." John would not give up. He prayed, sought
professional help and learned compensatory techniques. Always
positive in his attitude, he also began studying for the ministry.
The churches he served during the early days of his ministry were
compassionate and helpful. When I met him many years later, he was a
successful minister and an articulate speaker. He continued to
struggle inwardly with the problem, but it was not apparent to his
audience.
How many times have you felt inadequate for a task you must perform
or a commitment you have made? Moses was "slow of speech and tongue,"
and he felt inadequate for the task even though God promised to be
with him.
As Christians when we face difficult challenges, we can focus on
our weaknesses and say, in the words of Jill Briscoes book,
{"Here Am I - Send Aaron!,}" or we can do as the young man,
John, and strive to overcome our inadequacies and trust God to help us
accomplish our goal.
- Martha Melton, {Devotions, }summer 1996, July 9
Power accompanies salvation. If anyone is a child of God and shorn
of power it is entirely the fault of himself, and never of God. Christ
is the power of God, and if we have him in his fulness it is as
natural for us to have power in the estimation of God as it is to
breathe. Settle, then, first of all, the question as to whether he is
yours. If so you have the accompaniment of power. Second, you shall
receive power, the Holy Ghost coming upon you, and, since it can be
proven that the Holy Ghost is in the world to make Christ real to
every believer, it naturally follows that we may receive him and be
filled with all the fulness of God. If, therefore, he has come, and we
are still powerless, the fault is entirely our own.
A young engineer was asked in examination the following question:
"Suppose you had a steam pump constructed for a ship with everything
in perfect order, and you should throw out the hose and no water would
be drawn, what would you think might be the difficulty?" "I would
think," said the student, "that there must be some defect in the
pump." But," said the professor, "that is not admissible, for the
supposition is that it is perfect." "Then, sir," said the student, "I
should look over to see if the river had run dry."
This is the position for us today. We have the promise of power, we
have Christ, the Holy Ghost has come, the reservoir is filled to
overflowing. If we are without power it is because we have not
appropriated what is our birthright privilege in Christ.
By J. Wilbur Chapan, "Present Day Parables."
When the call for service comes, too often we give the excuse of weakness, inability, or lack of training. Christians fail to count on the omnipotence of God to take their small talents and use them for the accomplishment of His purposes.
D. L. Moody told the story of a passenger on an Atlantic steamer who lay in his bunk during a raging storm with a severe case of seasickness. Suddenly he heard the cry, "Man overboard!" "May God help that poor fellow," he prayed, "but there's nothing I can do."
Then he thought, "I can at least put my lantern in my small window," and with an effort he did so. The man was finally rescued. In recounting the story the next day, he said, "I was going down in the darkness for the last time when someone put a light in a porthole. It shone on my hand, and a sailor in the lifeboat grabbed it and pulled me in."
Weakness is no excuse for not putting forth the little strength we have. Who can tell how God will work?
“A few years ago -- a friend asked a strange question. 'If Satan were to blow you out of the water, how do you think he would do it?’ 'I'm not sure I know,' I answered, 'but I know there's one way he wouldn't get me -- He'd never get me in the area of my personal relationships. That's one place where I have no doubt that I'm as strong as you can get.’
A few years after that conversation -- a chain of seemingly innocent choices became destructive, and it was my fault. Choice by choice by choice, each easier to make, each becoming gradually darker. And then my world broke -- in the very area I had predicted I was safe.
Oswald Chambers comments on the tendency of men and women to lose major personal battles not at the points of their weaknesses but, strangely enough, at the points of their perceived strengths. He wrote, 'The Bible characters never fell on their weak points but on their strong ones; unguarded strength is double weakness.’ Funny! During my earlier years I'd thought we were most vulnerable at our weakest points -- until I realized from personal experience that where we perceive ourselves to be the strongest is where we're least likely to be prepared for a battle that isn't psychological or emotional. It's spiritual!
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Gordon MacDonald
If you want to be a leader who attracts quality people, the key is to become a person of quality yourself. Leadership is the ability to attract someone to the gifts, skills, and opportunities you offer as an owner, as a manger, or as a parent. I call leadership the great challenge of life.
What's important in leadership is refining your skills. All great leaders keep working on themselves until they become effective. Here are some specifics:
1) Learn to be strong but not rude. It is an extra step you must take to become a powerful, capable leader with a wide range of reach. Some people mistake rudeness for strength. It's not even a good substitute.
2) Learn to be kind but not weak. We must not mistake kindness for weakness. Kindness isn't weak. Kindness is a certain type of strength. We must be kind enough to tell somebody the truth. We must be kind enough and considerate enough to lay it on the line. We must be kind enough to tell it like it is and not deal in delusion.
3) Learn to be bold but not a bully. It takes boldness to win the day. To build your influence, you've got to walk in front of your group. You've got to be willing to take the first arrow, tackle the first problem, discover the first sign of trouble.
4) You've got to learn to be humble, but not timid. You can't get to the high life by being timid. Some people mistake timidity for humility. Humility is almost a Godlike word. A sense of awe. A sense of wonder. An awareness of the human soul and spirit. An understanding that there is something unique about the human drama versus the rest of life. Humility is a grasp of the distance between us and the stars, yet having the feeling that we're part of the stars. So humility is a virtue; but timidity is a disease. Timidity is an affliction. It can be cured, but it is a problem.
5) Be proud but not arrogant. It takes pride to win the day. It takes pride to build your ambition. It takes pride in community. It takes pride in cause, in accomplishment. But the key to becoming a good leader is being proud without being arrogant. In fact, I believe the worst kind of arrogance is arrogance from ignorance. It's when you don't know that you don't know. Now that kind of arrogance is intolerable. If someone is smart and arrogant, we can tolerate that. But if someone is ignorant and arrogant, that's just too much to take.
6) Develop humor without folly. That's important for a leader. In leadership, we learn that it's okay to be witty, but not silly. It's okay to be fun, but not foolish.
Lastly, deal in realities. Deal in truth. Save yourself the agony. Just accept life like it is. Life is unique. Some people call it tragic, but I'd like to think it's unique. The whole drama of life is unique. It's fascinating. And I've found that the skills that work well for one leader may not work at all for another. But the fundamental skills of leadership can be adapted to work well for just about everyone: at work, in the community, and at home.
*
Every time the economy - or corporate profits - take another dip in their roller coaster ride, you start hearing corporations saying "that" word again. Downsizing. Many companies have - and probably will - come to the conclusion that one way to increase their profitability is to decrease the number of employees they have. So they downsize ... to be more successful.
Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A WORD WITH YOU today about "Downsizing For Success."
Actually, God believes in downsizing, too - as His strange means of bringing about something bigger. In fact, that may be what He's doing in your life right now.
He sure did it to Gideon, in our word for today from the Word of God in Judges 7, beginning in verse 2. Here's the situation - the Midianites have invaded Israel year after year during harvest time to plunder their harvests, and nobody has been able to stop them. God calls Gideon to do it - even though Gideon argues that he is maybe the least qualified guy around. Of course, this happens a lot in the Bible - and still today.
Gideon is able to muster an army of 32,000 men - to go against a Midianite army of 132,000 men! And "the Lord said to Gideon, 'You have too many men for Me to deliver Midian into their hands." I'm sure Gideon didn't laugh, but I can't help it. Outnumbered four to one, and he's got "too many" men? God tells him to let go anyone who is afraid - and suddenly Gideon has twenty-two thousand men. Now he's outnumbered about six to one. After God has him downsize again, Gideon has 300 men left. He's outnumbered more than 40 to 1 now! But miraculously, that force wins the battle, and the Midianites aren't seen again!
Now why does God follow this strange plan for winning - reducing, taking away, cutting back, making smaller? God gave His reason to Gideon - "in order that Israel may not boast against Me that her own strength has saved her." It is a pattern throughout the Bible - God loves to win major victories with inadequate resources. He arranges mismatches and impossible situations so we will see how big He is and He will get all the glory!
God knows we all have pride issues ... we tend to be controlling people ... we tend to rely on the methods that have always seemed to get it done for us. But God puts us in situations where, like Gideon, we're left saying, "If there's a victory here, it's going to have absolutely nothing to do with me." So if you find yourself out-manned, out-gunned, under-resourced right now ... if it seems like God has been cutting you back and putting limitations on you - realize this may very well be the prelude to an amazing victory!
God is working on that wonderful addition and subtraction thing He does - John puts it this way: "He must become greater; I must become less." As God reduces the amount of you there is, He is increasing the amount of Him there is in the situation. He's been downsizing you so there can be more of Him - so He can show you a victory bigger than you ever thought you could be a part of. God isn't downsizing you so you'll lose - He's downsizing you for a victory so big that only He can get the glory for it!
________________
Copyright © Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc., PO Box 400, Harrison, AR 72602. Used by permission. Written by Ron Hutchcraft. "Practical Answers to Real Life Issues"
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When our boys were young, I usually knew where to find them on a Saturday morning - watching cartoons on TV. Back then, they were a little more innocent than some of what's offered today. One morning, they called for me to come in to see what was coming on television, and I thought, "Oh great, Smurfs." But, when I saw what it was, I dropped what I was doing, sat down and watched it. It was the original episode of my favorite boyhood TV show, "Superman." There he was again in his blue tights and red cape - faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. But as it concluded, I felt this tinge of sadness. I remembered what eventually happened to Superman ... actually to the actor who played him. His sudden death was ruled a suicide. They said he had been type cast, and it was hard for Superman to get any other roles. He couldn't be Superman for the rest of his life. No man can.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A WORD WITH YOU today about "The Sad Side Of Superman."
There's a Superman Syndrome that most males grow up with. Not that he has to leap tall buildings in a single bound. But if you're a modern male, you've often been made to feel that you should show no pain, no weakness, no tears, no tenderness, no deep feelings. You're always playing a Superman role that says, "I'm fine. I can handle it. I've got everything under control." Then one day all the feelings you've suppressed or denied explode.
Our word for today from the Word of God is about an Old Testament Superman. It's from 2 Kings 5:1. "Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded." This man was a conqueror, he's a winner, he's a strong leader. But, "He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy." Naaman was dying - but he was determined to remain in control. He is told to go to Israel to see the prophet Elisha if he wants to be healed. Well, to make a long story short, he tries to buy a cure, to use politics and clout to get an answer.
But God's prescription through his prophet is for the mighty general to go and dip himself seven times in the muddy Jordan River. The Bible says, "He turned and went off in a rage." He was not about to allow himself to be weak ... to be humbled in front of people. He'd almost rather be dead than weak. But there was no other way to be well.
The Bible continues, "Naaman's servants went to him and said, 'My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, 'Wash and be cleansed.' So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy." (2 Kings 5:12-14)
There was no healing for Naaman until he was willing to quit being Superman. It could be the prescription is the same for you. You're trying to be so strong, so together, so in charge ... but you're dying inside. Would you finally take off your cape and your big letter "S"? Open up to God ... to a friend ... open up to your wife ... to your children ... to a pastor ... a brother ... a counselor.
To be courageous enough to face your real feelings, your real fears, your real struggles is not a sign of weakness. It's a sign of great strength. You've gone too long being a wounded man with no place to bleed. You can't always be Superman - you were never meant to be. Don't be afraid to be weak. Don't be afraid to be real. When you can finally admit you're weak, you have never been stronger.
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Copyright © Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc., PO Box 400, Harrison, AR 72602. Used by permission. Written by Ron Hutchcraft. "Practical Answers to Real Life Issues"
*
”… out of weakness were made strong … “ (Hebrew 11:34, KJV) — For reading & meditation: Hebrews 11:30-40
When I first felt the urge to write on the theme: “Strong at the broken places,” I had great difficulty in tracing its origin. Then someone wrote to me, quoting the full phrase from the writings of Ernest Hemingway, who said: “Life breaks us all … but many are made strong at the broken places.” I felt this to be a gentle nudge from the Holy Spirit, and began at once to put my thoughts together on this thrilling theme.
It is a principle of life that the place in which a bone breaks and then heals will be so strong that, generally speaking, it will never break there again. In the same way, when the skin is cut and scar tissue forms, the healed part becomes tougher than the surrounding skin.
If this happens in the natural, why not in the spiritual? The writer to the Hebrews tells us, in the passage before us today, that God is expert at taking the weaknesses of His children and turning them into strength. What an encouraging truth! A traveler in the Netherlands tells how his guide pointed out an historic site. “This is where the sea broke through,” he said, “causing thousands to drown. But see — it is now so strongly reinforced that it will never break through there again.”
Have you been broken by life to such an extent that you feel an overwhelming sense of weakness? Then take heart — God specializes in matching His ability to your disability. By His transforming grace, your frustration can become fruitful. You can be strong at the broken places.
PRAYER:
O Father, this sounds fine as theory, but can it really become a fact? Your Word says it can. I am ready and eager to learn. Teach me, my Father. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
FURTHER STUDY:
• Psalm. 34:1-22; 147:3; 1 Cor. 11:24
1. What is promised to the brokenhearted?
2. Why was Jesus broken?
”For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.” (Romans 5:6-7 NKJV)
Christ Died For The Ungodly
• strength — (1) To serve God, (1) To save ourselves; (Robinson) a powerless to obey or please God. (Robinson)
• due time — at the fit (Gal 4:4) and appointed (1 Tim 2:6) time. Divine plans not precipitated.
• ungodly — all men
• scarcely — can hardly be persuaded to do so
• righteous — just, reputed upright
• peradventure [perhaps] — it might happen now and then: an exceptional case
• good — benevolent; an embodiment of moral goodness. Every good man is just, but every just man is not good (Bengel). “Si vir bonus is est qui prodest quibus potest, nocet nemini, recte justum virum, bonum non facile reperiemus” (Cicero)
• dare — have the hardihood, venture. “Have perhaps the boldness” (Bengal). “Might undertake” (De Wette). “Implies difficulty and boldness, the extreme degree of self-sacrifice” (0lshausen)
A weak world made strong — Dr. Thomas
I. The moral prostration of humanity — “When we were yet without strength.” Without strength to –
1. Effect the deliverance of self;
2. Render acceptable service to the Creator;
3. Face the future with calmness.
II. The re-invigorating power of Christ’s death. It enables man to –
1. Deliver himself;
2. Serve God acceptably;
3. Face the future calmly.
III. The seasonable period of the Redeemer’s mission. It was at a time –
1. When the world was prepared to appreciate it;
2. Appointed by heaven;
3. Most favourable for the universal diffusion of the fact.
Love begets gratitude — “During a sea voyage, a few years since,” says Dr. Parker, of the United States, in his interesting book, Invitation to True Happiness, “I was conversing with the mate of the vessel on this topic, when he concurred in the view presented, and observed that it called to mind one of the most thrilling scenes he had ever beheld. With this he related the following story:- ‘I was at sea, on the broad Atlantic, as we now are. It was just such a bright moonlight night as this, and the sea was quite as rough. The captain had turned in, and I was upon watch, when suddenly there was a cry of a man over board. To go out in a boat was exceedingly dangerous. I could hardly make up my mind to command the hands to expose themselves. I volunteered to go myself, if two more would accompany me. Two generous fellows came forward, and in a moment the boat was lowered, and we were tossed upon a most frightful sea. As. we rose upon a mountain wave we discovered the man upon a distant billow. We heard his cry, and responded, “coming.” As we descended into the trough of the sea, we lost sight of the man, and heard nothing but the roar of the ocean. As we rose on the next wave, we again saw him, and distinctly heard his call. We gave him another word of encouragement, and pulled with all our strength. At the top of each successive wave we saw and heard him, and our hearts were filled with encouragement. As often, in the trough of the sea, we almost abandoned the hope of success. The time seemed long, and the struggle was such as men never make but for life. We reached him just as he was ready to sink with exhaustion. When we had drawn him into the boat, he was helpless and speechless. Our minds were now turned towards the ship. She had rounded to. But, exhausted as we were, the distance between us and the vessel was frightful. One false movement would have filled our boat, and consigned us all to a watery grave. Yet we reached the vessel, and were drawn safely upon the deck. We were all exhausted, but the rescued man could neither speak nor walk; yet he had a full sense of his condition. He clasped our feet, and began to kiss them. We disengaged ourselves from his embrace. He then crawled after us, and, as we stepped back to avoid him, he followed us, looking up at one moment with smiles and tears, and then patting our wet foot-prints with his hand, he kissed them with an eager fondness. I never witnessed such a scene in my life. I suppose if he had been our greatest enemy he would have been perfectly subdued by our kindness. The man was a passenger. During the whole remaining part of the voyage he showed the deepest gratitude, and when we reached the port, he loaded us with presents.’”
“As to what Homer said, that a god breathed strength into some heroes; love furnishes this, producing from himself all lovers. Moreover, to die for another, lovers alone are ready, not only men, but also women.” — Plato.
“Saving faith brings glory to God, because it brings nothing to him but poverty, want, and emptiness; other graces bring something. Love brings fire; repentance, brings tears; obedience brings works; but poor faith brings nothing but a bare hand, and an empty vessel. The poorer any come to God, the more they glorify Him.” — Erskine
“Faith is the root of all good works. A root that produces nothing is dead.” — Bishop Wilson.
“Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit [is], because He makes intercession for the saints according to [the will of] God.” (Romans 8:26-27 NKJV)
The Spirit Helps Our Infirmity
• likewise — not only does hope help us
• helpeth — 2 Cor 12:9, Matt 10:19-20, 20:22, Zec 12:10, Eph 2:18, Rom 8:15 — Gk., to bear together with another, as when persons assist in carrying a heavy load
• groaning…uttered — Ps 42:1-4, 77:4, 1 Sam 1:13 — inwardly felt by the spirit
• He…hearts — He the heart-searcher — 2 Chr 6:30, 1 Sam 16:7, 1 Chr 28:9, Jer 17:10, Ps 7:9, cf., Rev 2:23, Matt 9:4, 12:25, Luke 5:8, John 2:24-25, 16:19, Acts 1:24
• mind…Spirit, aim, desire of these inarticulate groanings
• maketh intercession — He complaineth — Same Greek word used by Festus (Acts 25:24) and of Elijah (Rom 11:2)
• according…God — Gk., according to God
The Spirit helping our infirmities — Rev. C. Bridges, M.A.
I. What is prayer? Look upon it as –
1. Grounded upon the office and work of Christ;
2. Connected with the work of the Spirit.
II. What praying soul is not conscious of deep and manifold infirmities?
1. The matter of our prayers. We know not what to pray for.
2. Their manner and spirit. These too are fraught with infirmities.
III. Our assistance in prayer. Christ intercedeth for us. Mark this help in –
1. Exciting intense desires within us;
2. Moulding these desires in subjection to the will of God.
IV. The acceptance of prayer.
Application –
1. Where prayer is a mere form, it is a dead matter;
2. Yet be not discouraged although you may not have known these earnest desires;
3. In infirmities we must not indolently wait for the promised help;
4. Are we overcoming our infirmities, or simply confessing them?
5. Learn to worship the Spirit;
6. Mark how well the Spirit’s work in prayer connects itself with that of Christ
The aid of the Holy Spirit in prayer — Dr Leifchild
The infirmities in prayer against which the Holy Spirit proves an adequate succour. The infirmity of –
I. Ignorance;
II. Doubt;
III. Dullness;
IV. Utterance.
Man’s spiritual infirmities and God’s agency — G. W. Humphreys, B.A.
I. The good man is subject to various spiritual infirmities:
1. Ignorance;
2. Doubts and fears;
3. Love for temporal things;
4. Reluctance to engage, and difficulty to continue in well-doing.
II. Among these infirmities there is ignorance of the nature and mode of prayer:
1. We know not what we should pray for;
2. We know not how to pray.
III. These infirmities the Spirit helps us to overcome:
1. Christ intercedes in heaven-the Spirit on earth in us;
2. Christ is the advocate with God; the Spirit, with men;
3. Christ is in heaven preparing a place for us; the Spirit is preparing us for heaven.
IV. The manner of the Spirit’s help is inexplicable and earnest.
The help of the Holy Spirit — Mr C__, a pious gentleman, was on a visit to a friend. Mr C__ having taken occasion to recommend family worship, his friend remarked that he was sensible of the importance of the duty; but having been a stranger to the practice of it, he felt a difficulty in commencing; that, however, if Mr C__ would make a beginning he would endeavour to continue it. To Mr C__ this proposal was embarrassing, for he was always accustomed to the help of a prayer-book. But his desire for usefulness prevailed; the family were convened, and their guest presided at family worship. At first he was agitated, and his voice began to falter; but he soon recovered confidence. The success of his first attempt encouraged him to lay his formulary aside, and experience soon taught him, that when the spirit of devotion prevails, there is rarely a difficulty in giving expression to the feelings it excites.
“We must thus think of the just man, that if he fall into poverty or disease, or any other of those seeming evils, all these things work together for good to him, either alive or dead. For the man is never neglected by the gods who exerts himself to the utmost to become just, and to practise virtue, so far as it is possible for a man to resemble god.” — Plato
“In prayer it is better to have a heart without words, than words without a heart.” — Bunyan
”God doesn’t need much from us to accomplish His plan for our lives. Focusing on our human predicament may paralyze us because the situation may appear humanly impossible. But concentrating on God and His power will help us see the way out. Right now you may feel unable to see through your troubles. Focus instead on God, and trust Him for the way out. That is all He needs to begin His work in you.”
Nutmeg was a beautiful young horse with a white blaze on her nose and what looked like white boots on her feet. Her owners learned that her grandmother had actually been a prize-winning jumper. Apparently, Nutmeg had her grandmother's blood - she kept jumping every fence her owners used to try to restrain her. One day, trying to get out of another fence, she broke her leg. The veterinarian told the owners it was the worst break he had ever seen in a horse, and there was no way to save her. She was a horse with great potential - and a very sad ending.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “The Fatal Flipside.”
That horse's great strength was her instinct and ability to jump. But it also ended up killing her. Her strength, uncontrolled and untamed, became her fatal weakness. Not unlike a lot of us. So often, our greatest weakness is the flipside of our greatest strength. And untamed, uncontrolled, it will eventually bring us - and others - great injury and great pain.
Think about Samson, for example. He was Israel's conqueror, conquering every Philistine in sight. But he ended up conquering every woman he was attracted to, as well - until one named Delilah conquered him and brought him to destruction. It's really important that we look with brutal honesty at the downside of our strengths and confront the weaknesses that go with them before they do any more damage.
Hebrews 12:1-2, our word for today from the Word of God, says, “Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus...” Identify what trips you up and slows you down, and “throw it off.” And don't be surprised if it's the other side of a strength you have.
You may be a strong, goal-oriented person with a lot of drive - who, on the other hand, may drive right over people or cut corners with what's right to get to your goal. Maybe God has given you the ability to communicate well - you're a good talker. But sometimes those people can use that ability to deceive or to manipulate. Then there's the person who's very determined and hard to derail - who may, on the other side, be stubborn and even disobedient when God's way differs from their way.
You may be known to those around you as a gentle, loving, encouraging person. And that's good. But because you don't want to hurt anyone and you like being liked, you won't confront people, you won't confront situations that need confronting - thus, setting the stage for terrible explosions. Then there's the person who prides himself on always being honest about how they feel - not realizing or not caring how much their “honesty” is hurting and crushing people. You can be a logical person who boxes out God's miracles - a disciplined person who is also rigid and inflexible, or a spontaneous person who is lazy and undisciplined as well.
Thank God for the strengths that He has given you. And turn to God to help you see, and repent of, and conquer the fatal flipside of your strengths. Often, those weaknesses are the last ones for us to see and to repent of. They are strongholds to the Lordship of Christ in our life. This Biblical prayer, prayed often and with an open heart, can save you so much grief: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.” (Psalm 139:13-14, NASB)
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Copyright © Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc., PO Box 400, Harrison, AR 72602. Used by permission. Written by Ron Hutchcraft. "Practical Answers to Real Life Issues"
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Ever since my stroke I’ve had a problem with a low energy level — my strength has never returned. In an effort to improve that problem I started taking more iron. Betty just asked me if I felt any different. I said, “No, but my toenails are getting rusty.”
Thank God my mental and spiritual strength was not affected — in fact, it served to improve my spiritual strength. What is the main source of your mental and spiritual strength? Is it in your education, which is very important? Is it in your family, which is also very important? But your main source should be your faith in God. All other sources are adjuncts to that source.
This brings to mind the familiar and wonderful words of Isaiah 40:31 (niv), “but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” What more can I say but a big AMEN! Have a strong day.
There's something very special about having a new baby in the family at Christmastime - since it's really all about a baby. And this past Christmas, we had the great joy of celebrating with our brand new granddaughter. Well, she didn't actually do much celebrating - she really didn't do much of anything except lie there and look irresistible. In my head, I know that babies are helpless, but being around one for a little while really brings that home. Our little darlin' couldn't eat unless Mommy fed her; she couldn't burp unless someone burped her (something that some of us grew up and learned to do all too well); our baby couldn't move unless someone moved her; her little hands just sort of flailed around - absolutely no ability to control what they did. Helpless.
Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “The Radical Christmas Victory Plan.”
Now try to get your mind around this: the helpless hands of that little Jewish baby Mary was holding in the manger were the hands that created the galaxies! The Son of God, the second Person of the Godhead, the One of whom the Bible says, “Through Him all things were made” (John 1:3) - comes to our planet in a helpless little package that basically can do nothing for Himself. Omnipotence becomes helplessness to rescue a world full of dying people. As one song says, “What a strange way to save the world.”
Get used to it. It seems to be God's favorite modus operandi. And this radical victory plan - use the weak to do amazing things - can be both an encouragement to you and an explanation for some of your recent struggles. Let's go to our word for today from the Word of God to see the story of the first Christmas from heaven's viewpoint. Philippians 2, beginning with verse 5, tells us that our attitude “should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.”
God goes on to explain that, though Jesus was “in very nature God,” He “made Himself nothing” - picture that helpless infant in a cattle stall - “taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness ... He humbled Himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross!” The great plan of God to redeem a world starts with Jesus as a helpless baby in a cattle stall and culminates with Him nailed to a criminal's cross. But Colossians 2:15 announces the crushing triumph won by that “weakness” - it says Jesus disarmed the princes of hell and “made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross!” As Michael Card says, “His most awesome work was done through the frailty of His Son.” God loves to win through weakness. Then it's a whole lot of God, and hardly any of us.
That's why He chooses unlikely candidates and does mighty things through them - which means your inadequacy and ordinariness may be exactly what actually qualifies you to be a spiritual hero. According to Jesus, who is it that will “inherit the earth?” The mighty? No - the meek (Matthew 5:3). And about the struggles you've been going through recently. God will do whatever it takes to help us realize our weakness - to break our death grip on the steering wheel and to finally let Him drive - to break our stubborn pride and self-reliance and our need to control. All so we can finally surrender and let His strength come flooding in. Maybe the battles you've been going through have been to take you beyond yourself and beyond things you can fix or solve - so you'll get out of the way and let God do what only He can do.
A baby wrapped in rags - a bloodied man, hanging on a cross. Vivid pictures of God's radical plan for victory - winning through weakness so everyone will know that the Lord is God!
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Copyright © Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc., PO Box 400, Harrison, AR 72602. Used by permission. Written by Ron Hutchcraft. "Practical Answers to Real Life Issues"
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After seven years in the making, the final film of the LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy, THE RETURN OF THE KING, opens this Wednesday. The good news is that, like the others, it was worth the wait. The better news is that, even more than the others, what we see on screen respects the Christian faith of the book's author, J. R. R. Tolkien.
Tolkien wrote that LORD OF THE RINGS is a “fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first but consciously in the revision.” Director Peter Jackson and screenwriters Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh knew this. So they consciously honored the things that “were important to Tolkien.” Many of his beliefs, thus, come through on screen.
What sets LORD OF THE RINGS apart from other stories about good versus evil, aside from its extraordinarily imaginative treatment, is the way Christian truth is portrayed, how it confounds the wisdom of the world. While the great and powerful play a role in defeating evil, in the end, it's the humble and unremarkable hobbits who save the day.
This paradox, the weak shaming the wise and the mighty, is most prominent in THE RETURN OF THE KING, both the book and the film. At the end, the hero of the third film isn't Aragon, the king-to-be, or even Frodo, the ring-bearer. It's Samwise Gamgee, a gardener and arguably the humblest of the four hobbits.
Time after time, when it appears that the quest to destroy the Ring of Power is about to fail, Sam somehow summons up the will to go on and, most importantly, takes Frodo with him. The cinematic Sam mirrors what Tolkien wrote of in his book: “His will was set and only death would break it.”
Another instance of Tolkien's faith coming through occurs in an exchange between Pippin, one of the hobbits, and Gandalf, the wizard. Hours before a battle in which he is sure he will die, Pippin tells Gandalf that he “never thought it would end like this.”
Gandalf replies, “End? No, the journey doesn't end here. There's another path we all must take. The gray rain curtain of this world rolls back, and it will change to the silver clouds, and then you see it.” When Pippin asks, “See what?” Gandalf replies, “White shores and beyond, a far green country under a swift sunrise.” Gandalf's words, with a vivid picture of heaven, comfort Pippin as he contemplates battle and possible death.
According to screenwriters Boyens and Walsh, THE RETURN OF THE KING is ultimately about faith: faith in the need for good to oppose evil; faith in those who join you in that struggle; and faith in a higher power that ensures good's eventual triumph.
Seven years ago, bringing Tolkien's masterpiece to the screen in a way that did the story justice was considered unlikely — even less likely that it would honor Tolkien's faith. But that is what this film does. And that makes THE RETURN OF THE KING an easy one to recommend. A great book has become a great film precisely because it remembers what the author thought was “most important” — the truths of a Christian worldview.
FOR FURTHER READING AND INFORMATION:
• Michael H. Kleinschrodt, “Actor Sean Astin saw Hobbit's courage from the beginning,” The Times-Picayune (New Orleans), 12 December 2003.
• Steve Beard, “The Return of the King,” Thunderstruck.org.
• Jeffrey Overstreet, “Film Forum: Christian Critics Hail Third Rings, Harass Last Samurai,” Christianity Today, 11 December 2003.
• Monique Devereux, “The Return of the King — the international verdict,” New Zealand Herald, 9 December 2003. Read more articles on the making of the trilogy from the Herald.
• Read more about The Return of the King at HollywoodJesus.com.
• R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings (Houghton Mifflin, 1974).
• Kurt D. Bruner, Finding God in the Lord of the Rings (Tyndale, 2001).
• See the BreakPoint Commentaries: “Preparatio Evangelica,” “Now at a Theater Near You,” and “Defrocking Frodo and the Death of the Imagination.” (Archived commentaries; free registration required.)
• Roberto Rivera, “The Lord of the Rings,” Boundless, 20 December 2001.
• Gina Dalfonzo, “The Myth That Really Happened,” BreakPoint Online, 23 December 2002.
• Kelley Reep, “Between Two Masters,” BreakPoint Online, 24 January 2003.
• Colleen Carroll, “Tolkien, Transformer of Culture,” BreakPoint Online, 19 April 2002.
• Steven Garber, “Good Books, Bad Books,” BreakPoint WorldView, January/February 2003.
• See the “BreakPoint with Chuck Colson Recommended Films List.”
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Copyright (c) 2003 Prison Fellowship Ministries. Reprinted with permission. "BreakPoint with Chuck Colson" is a radio ministry of Prison Fellowship Ministries.
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“We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please [his] neighbor for [his] good, leading to edification. For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.”” (Romans 15:1-3 NKJV)
The Strong To Bear With The Weak
• strong — in faith. Well instructed in Christian doctrine
• bear…weak — Gal 6:2 — Gk., all. to custom of travellers who support the weak or weary of the company
• not…ourselves — take care of ourselves alone from a spirit of selfishness
• please…edification — Phil 2:4-5, 1 Cor 8:5, 10:24, 33, 9:19, 21 — not pleasing in other ways or for other ends
• even…himself — the good of others being His object
• written — Ps 69:9 — the connection between Christ’s character, etc., and ancient prophecy constantly indicated
• reproaches, etc. — John 6:38, 13:14-15 — the punishment due to the wicked was laid upon Me.
Self-denial — The Homilist
1. Whom Christ did not seek to please Himself. You will see this if you think of what He –
1. Might have been;
2. Actually was.
II. Whom Christ did seek to please God:
1. God’s will is always the wisest and best for us:
(1) Naturally;
(2) Remedially.
2. Our will is often ignorant, wrong, and pernicious
The duty of the strong to the weak — Dr Longwill
I. The strong here are the strong in faith — the enlightened.
II. We who are strong physically ought to bear the infirmities of the weak.
III. The strong in mind ought to bear the infirmities and temper of the weak.
Enforced by –
1. The fact that we are all constituted differently one from another;
2. The example of our Lord.
Application:
1. Thou art strong in muscle and sinew; then help the delicate;
2. Thou art strong in intellect; then instruct the ignorant, guide the erring;
3. Thou art strong in nerve; then give courage to the fearful;
4. Thou art strong in faith. Help others to realise by thy strength of faith the things unseen.
Fable of self-complacency — One day, Narcissus, who had resisted all the charms of others, came to an open fountain of silvery clearness. He stooped down to drink, and saw his own image, and thought it some beautiful water-spirit living in the fountain. He gazed, and admired the eyes, the neck, the hair, the lips. He fell in love with himself. In vain he sought a kiss and an embrace. He talked to the charmer, but received no response. He could not break the fascination, and so he pined away and died. The moral is, think not too much nor too highly of yourself.
Promptness of sympathy — Sympathy is as the lightning; it is quick as thought; it waits not to make its selections; it is irrespective of considerations, and of partialities, and of tastes, and of cold prudence. If the stone on which I have set my foot proves to be loose, I catch hold of my companion’s arm; and I do so without ceremony or the intervention of a thought. Or, if I see that my companion is in danger of a fall, I catch hold of his arm, to save him, without ceremony or the intervention of a thought. Or if, on my path, I find some one — a stranger — who has just fallen, and has broken a limb, and is bleeding, I start forward without ceremony or the intervention of a thought (on the supposition that I am no descendant of the Priest or of the Levite). — Jeremy Taylor
“Of the Epistle to the Romans, which treats principally of Justification by faith, at least four chapters are devoted to the enforcement of social duties.” — Bishop Middleton
“The Churches of Christ in general … are hospitals, or rather one great hospital, wherein there are persons of all sorts under cure … Cannot sore and wounded men endure one another, when they are all there for cure?” — Howe
“The nature of sympathy is, to put us in the place of another in whatever circumstance he is in, and to affect us in like manner; so that this passion may, as the occasion requires, turn either on pain or pleasure.” — Burke
“Receive one who is weak in the faith, [but] not to disputes over doubtful things. For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats [only] vegetables. Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him.” (Romans 14:1-3 NKJV)
The Weak In Faith
• weak…faith — 1 Cor 9:22 — especially about meats and days
• receive — on the ground of his faith in Christ
• not…disputations — concerning his views on minor matters
• eat…things — Gen 9:3-4 — as indeed physiology teaches
• weak…herbs {vegetables} — so the vegetarian is weak
• despise — Dan 1:8, Acts 10:14 — for he may be conscientious, or have a peculiar constitution
• let…eateth — the weaker brethren are not to rule the world. The weakness of some may, through lack of charity, become an instrument of tyranny to others
• God…him — Acts 10:34-35 — i.e., him that eateth, and him that eateth not
Judge not — Starcke
Judge not from –
I. Partiality;
II. Suspiciousness, or want of love;
III. Self-love;
IV. Censoriousness;
V. Envy and malice
The Christian view of human faults — Ubher
I. Strict towards itself.
II. Mild towards others.
How we are wont to act — Uhle
With respect to –
I. Our neighbour’s faults;
II. The injustice done him;
III. His known necessities.
The in clination to a merciful judgment — Burk
I. Who gives it?
II. How is it exercised?
III. Who rewards it?
Infirm Christians — Weak Christians have infirmities, but infirmity supposes life; and we must not despise them-not in heart, word, or carriage. We must rather deny ourselves than offend them. We must support them — bear them as pillars bear the house as the shoulders a burden; as the wall the vine; as parents their children; as the oak the ivy. And this because they are brethren. Are they not of the same body? Shall the hand cut off the little finger because it is not as large as the thumb? Do men throw away their corn because it comes into their barns with chaff? They are weak. Bear with them out of pity. In a family, if one of the little ones be sick, all the larger children are ready to attend it, which they need not do if it were well. It should be done, likewise, because Jesus Christ does so. “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ” — the law of His command, and the law of His example. He takes special care of His lambs, will not quench the smoking flax, and is touched with the feeling of our infirmities. — P. Henry
°If anything be the exclusive property of each individual, it is his belief; and I hope I should be one of the last men living who could harbour a thought of obtruding my own belief on the free minds of others.” — Sir W. Jones
“In such points as may be held diversely by divers persons, I would not take any man’s liberty from him; and I humbly beseech all men that they would not take mine from me.” — Abp Bramhall
Christmas Eve, 1941: Sergeant Sidney Stewart was preparing American troops to leave Manila to fight the Japanese in Bataan. Working late in his office, he looked up to find a white-robed Catholic priest at his door. Stewart, a Protestant boy from Oklahoma, did not know it, but his life would soon be intertwined with the frail-looking priest.
“I'm Father Cummings,” the priest said. “I heard you boys were leaving in an hour or so. I wonder if I could go with you to Bataan. I'm sure that they will need me there.” Father Cummings came along, but once there, Stewart lost track of him.
Then in April 1942, the Japanese captured Stewart's unit. “YAHURA!” the guards yelled. “Start moving!” The infamous Bataan Death March had begun. Denied food and water and abused by their captors, thousands died.
A POW camp awaited survivors. There, as sadistic guards lined them up in the hot sun, Stewart felt a cool hand on his shoulder. It was Father Cummings! He was desperately thin, but radiated gentleness. Looking into the hopeless faces all around him, the priest muttered, “I must work harder. These men need me.” That evening, the men listened as he spoke of God simply and directly. As Stewart recalls in his book, GIVE US THIS DAY, God “became a real presence beside us. We felt Him there.”
In 1944, the prisoners were packed into the hold of a ship bound for Japan. Given no food or water, some, driven mad by thirst, cut the throats of their comrades and drank their blood. Events took a tragic turn when American pilots attacked the ship. Yet that night, over screams of pain and cries for water, there came a gentle voice: “Listen to me, men! You must listen to me.” And then he began to pray. “Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name…'"
Each night Father Cummings, sick and weak, prayed — and each night, sanity returned to the hold. Stewart wrote, “I looked forward every hour for night to come, when Father Cummings stood and said his prayer again. It was the only strength I had.”
Finally a night came when the priest was too weak to stand. Stewart propped him up, and he slowly began to pray. “Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name..."
The cries of the men became still. “Thy will be done — on earth — as it is — in Heaven.” A spasm of pain shook the priest, and he gasped for air. And then, with superhuman effort, he spoke one last time. “Give us this day..."
His body relaxed, and he was gone. But the memory of his sacrificial love sustained Stewart in the terrible months ahead.
This story reveals the reality of Christ's incarnation. Father Cummings volunteered, giving up everything to serve. He endured pain and suffering with the troops and brought the presence of God into a man-made hell on earth.
Jesus calls us to live His incarnation as well, to bring His presence into jobs, prisons, hospitals, and neighborhoods. By His grace we can follow Him, even into a nightmare of hell on earth, as Father Cummings did. “As the Father sent me,” Jesus said, “so I send you.”
FOR FURTHER READING AND INFORMATION:
• Sidney Stewart, Give Us This Day (W. W. Norton and Co., 1999).
• Charles Krauthammer, “Goodbye Christmas?“ Townhall.com, 17 December 2004.
• James Lileks, “The traditional yule fear factor,” Star Tribune (Minneapolis, Minn.), 14 December 2004.
• T. M. Moore, “The Jesus We Preach at Christmas,” Worldview Church, December 2004.
• Charles Colson with Anne Morse, How Now Shall We Live? Devotional (Tyndale, 2004).
• Diana West, “Keeping Christ in Christmas,” Townhall.com, 20 December 2004.
• Jeff Jacoby, “A Jew says ‘Merry Christmas',” Townhall.com, 20 December 2004.
• Peggy Noonan, “It's Policy, Not Poetry,” Wall Street Journal, 16 December 2004.
• Michelle Cottle, “Winter Games,” New Republic, 17 December 2004.
• BreakPoint Commentary No. 041111, “No Greater Glory: Four Immortal Chaplains.”
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Copyright (c) 2004 Prison Fellowship Ministries. Reprinted with permission. "BreakPoint with Chuck Colson" is a radio ministry of Prison Fellowship Ministries.
A doctor from New York City notes the unwritten rule of the examining room: “Ask, but don't tell.” In an essay in The New York Times, Dr. Abigail Zuger tells a story physicians know well. Affinity of ailment is not among the things a patient is looking for in an office visit — advice, prescriptions, sympathy, yes — but not a commiserating physician with the same aches and illness. There is somehow less comfort in the doctor who is, admittedly or otherwise, vincible.
In fact, even Hippocrates, father of the Hippocratic oath itself, noted that the ideal physician should be plump and healthy. Writes Zuger of the old mind-set, “[T]he therapeutic pedestal persists.”
Of course, I know that physicians are not of invincible health — though it isn't something I necessarily want to think about when facing cancer or a heart problem. My doctor visits are filled with questions and answers about my own condition, and there really would be something unnerving in the role reversal. If all at once my doctor confessed he struggled with the same joint pain, offering similar sighs and complaints about his own knees, I would probably grow quiet and deterred about mine. Sitting in a gown at the edge of an examination table, you don't expect to hear your doctor speak personally of anything that ails her. I want my doctor to be empathetic; I don't want her to be sick.
I suppose many of us carry similar — admittedly unreasonable — expectations into our lives as Christians. Because we follow the Great Physician, we want to show ourselves as the picture of health and wholeness. Because they speak of the risen Christ, we want our leaders strong and unshakable. But is this fair, or even God-honoring? Isn't it the sick who need a doctor, the weak who see his strength?
In the stories recounted in the gospels, it was the wounded and rejected who arguably saw Christ the clearest. In fact, the New Testament speaks pointedly about God being active — and honored — in our weakness. Of the thorn in his flesh Paul told the Corinthians, “Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Corinthians 12:8-9). Our weakness can be the fount of our hope, our woundedness a spring of healing. Seeing our great need, we see the splendor of Christ's ability to meet it.
Moreover, since we share a similar condition with those around us, we do well to speak of the cure. In his memorable work The Wounded Healer, Henri Nouwen writes, “Making one's own wounds a source of healing, does not call for a sharing of superficial personal pains but for a constant willingness to see one's own pain and suffering as rising from the depth of the human condition which all men share.” Speaking of Jesus, the Christ who would come to mend the wounds of humanity, the prophet Isaiah declared: “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed” (1 Peter 2:24).
Doctor's are no more invincible to disease than Christians are invincible to weakness, pain, or trial. But we are under the direction of one who sees our need and hears our cries. He is the perfect Physician we seek. Christ answers our weakness with strength, our illness with mercy, our wounds with his own.
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Copyright © 2005 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. "A Slice of Infinity" is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.
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He's got a black belt in three different martial arts. That's the highest level of achievement in a martial art. I told him I had a black belt, too. I wear it with my dark suit. He wasn't impressed. (I don't think you are either.) But I decided I definitely wanted him on my side. He told me that his training gives him the ability to fight back and defend himself from any position he might be in - except one. Face down on the ground. He said that's the one position in which he is totally powerless.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “God's Strange Road to Power.”
Being in a powerless position makes you so weak, so vulnerable, so unable to do anything about the situation. But it is also, in the strange ways of God, the most powerful position on earth. Just ask General Joshua from the book in the Old Testament that bears his name.
In Joshua 5, beginning with verse 13, Joshua is in what may be the most intimidating, potentially fearful situation of his life at that point. He's bravely led God's people into Canaan, only to be confronted with the massive walled city of Jericho, looming before God's people as a seemingly impossible obstacle between them and the land that God has promised. As their commanding general, Joshua has gone to scout out his Mission Impossible.
The Bible says: “Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, 'Are you for us or for our enemies?’ 'Neither,' he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.’ Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence (There it is. That's that position of total powerlessness) and (he) asked him, 'What message does my Lord have for his servant?’ The commander of the Lord's army replied, 'Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.’ And Joshua did so.”
Many Bible scholars believe that this Commander of the Lord's forces is actually the Son of God making one of several pre-Bethlehem appearances in Old Testament times. No angel would have accepted worship, and Joshua calls him “my Lord.” And Joshua falls on the ground, facedown. This is a man who was very competent, very successful, very skilled; a man who had never surrendered to anybody. But this day he surrenders, and that is going to be the secret of winning. From this moment of total surrender, of total powerlessness before the Lord comes God's unusual plan for conquering Jericho. But before there could be the conquest of Jericho, there had to be the conquest of Joshua.
And before there can be the conquest of the Jericho that looms before you right now, there must be the conquest of you. God allows things into our life that will bring us to the end of ourselves where all your experience, and your talent, your wisdom, your connections, and your persuasion are useless in getting an answer. God has brought you to this moment of total helplessness, not so you would give up, but so you would give over the controls to Him totally, unconditionally. There is no condition God can do more with than our admission of powerlessness. Now you're out of the way finally, and now you can see what Almighty God can do!
And as you stand facing the walls of a Jericho that you can't possibly conquer, it's time for your unconditional surrender to your Lord. Admit your powerlessness. Don't be afraid to be broken. Often it is the breaking of a man that is the making of a man. Let God shine His holy light on the dark corners of you that you've never let Him touch. And tear up that contract you wanted God to sign - the one with all the ways you've wanted things to be. Lay a blank piece of paper in front of Him, pre-signed by you to do whatever He writes on it. You're at the end of your power and at the beginning of His. Surrendering is the way to winning, and powerlessness is the most powerful position in the world.
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Copyright © Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc., PO Box 400, Harrison, AR 72602. Used by permission. Written by Ron Hutchcraft. "Practical Answers to Real Life Issues"
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“Samuel saw Eliab and thought ‘surely the Lord’s anointed [for king] stands here before the Lord.’ But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.’” - Samuel 16:6-7 (NIV)
Today’s society places tremendous emphasis on physical appearance, not only for women, but also (even if to a lesser degree) for men. If, for example, two men of equal qualifications apply for the same job, the tallest man is most likely to be given the position.
Because of his amazing courage in the Battle of Lodi in 1796, Napoleon Bonaparte became know as “The Little Corporal.” He was only five-feet-two-inches tall!
William Wilberforce was another small man who apparently never enjoyed good health. For twenty years he was under a doctor’s care. More than any other person’ he was responsible for stopping the British slave trade. He was known for his eloquence, and in 1780, he entered the British Parliament at age 21. Six years later he joined Thomas Clarkson, the anti-slave campaigner, and began his fight against slavery even though the bill to end the slave trade didn’t become law until 1807 -- twenty-one years later.
On one occasion James Boswell, the great Scottish author went to hear Wilberforce speak. Afterward he said, “I saw what seemed to be a mere shrimp ... but as I listened, he grew and grew till the shrimp became a whale.”
Often in life, many of the greatest achievements have been accomplished by persons who have had a serious setback, a major limitation or handicap, or a significant failure of one kind or another, but have overcome their defect and risen above their circumstances.
If you feel you have a shortcoming, be encouraged, the people God uses are ordinary people who make themselves available.
Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that you use ordinary people to accomplish your work on earth. I am available. Please use me to be a part of what you are doing in the world today. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”
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[Original illustration at this number was added to HolwickID #16019]
“… ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’” (2 Corinthians 12:9)
We must spend another day examining this very important issue of why it is that some non-Christians seem to respond better to life’s problems than many Christians. Just recently I heard of two different people whose business ventures collapsed. One was a Christian and the other an agnostic. The agnostic responded to the situation by saying, “I cannot determine what happens to me, but I can determine what it will do to me. It will make me better and more useful.” He struck out in another direction, and his new venture prospered to such a degree that he won an award.
The Christian responded to the collapse of his business by saying, “Life is unjust. What’s the point of trying? I shall withdraw from the cutthroat world of business and concentrate on my garden.” He had to undergo some in-depth counseling before he was on his feet again, and after six months he felt strong enough to rebuild a new and now prosperous business.
What can explain the different reactions of these two men? We could explain it in terms of temperament, upbringing, and so on, but there is one thing that must not be overlooked — the Christian had access to the grace of God which, if utilized, should have enabled him to view the situation even more positively than the non-Christian. As a counselor, I understand why people respond wrongly to life’s situations. However, my understanding of it does not prevent me from recognizing that the true biblical response to life’s problems is to take full advantage of the grace of God and turn every setback into a springboard.
PRAYER:
Gracious Father, help me to respond to everything in the way a Christian should. Help me to see that not only do You lift the standard high, but You also supply the strength for me to attain it. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.
FURTHER STUDY: — James 1:1-15; Ephesians 3:16; Isaiah 41:10
1. What does James teach us about trials?
2. What was Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians?
”Out of weakness were made strong.” — Hebrews 11:34.
Think of this in relation to suffering. Most of us think that suffering will break us; but the fact is, that suffering trustfully submitted to, and sanctified by the Holy Spirit, is one of Heaven’s surest means of lifting Christian believers from spiritual immaturity and instability into spiritual mellowness and strength. When the faith principle triumphs in us, then, so to speak, by the homeopathic process of “like curing like”, our weakness, with God in it, becomes the very thing which ends our weakness. It is the same with fear. When our fear so drives us to God that we utterly hide in Him, then our very fear becomes the catalyst which cures fear by provoking its opposite. When the faith principle so triumphs in us that we gratefully see God even in permitted suffering, and hand it over to Him to sanctify it to us, then suffering, instead of breaking us, lifts us up on eagle wings.
Some time ago, I was reading in a horticultural magazine that flowers are really the product of the plant’s weakness. The main strength goes into making stems and stalks; then, out of its failing strength, or weakness, the plant can only produce the delicate but beautiful petals of flowers! In this light, think of the glorious triumph of the flowers, season after season, all the world round. What a victory of weakness issuing in loveliness and fragrance!
Several times, recently, in a western city, I have had the privilege of meeting a dear Christian brother who has been a helpless invalid for over fifteen years. He loves the house of God, and is brought to the services on a stretcher. There he lies and listens flat, rigid, arms and legs paralysed, hands and feet twisted, both eyes now blind, but a brightness on his face which reminds one of a pleasant sunrise. One day a middle-aged lady told me that she had formerly been his nurse. She had not wanted to look after such a helpless case, but now she could never thank God enough that she had been given the privilege, for it was her dear invalid who had brought her to Christ. About the same time I learned that one hundred and sixty other persons had been converted to Christ through him, some by letter, some by interview, some by telephone. Again and again people call him by phone on spiritual matters. He “rejoices evermore” and is “always abounding in the work of the Lord.” He has transformed his very helplessness into a vehicle of service for Christ.
When once faith imports God into a matter, all is changed. Lazarus sickness becomes “that the Son of God might be glorified thereby” (John 11:4). A bow drawn “at a venture” pierces the joints of an Ahab’s armour (I Kings. 22:34). We are all needing to learn this lesson afresh “Out of weakness were made strong.” We need to learn it again in relation to character and service and suffering.
A shepherd’s rod is a dead stick in Aaron’s hand until God is in it; then it buds and blossoms and bears fruit (Numbers 17:8). Five little barley loaves and two little fishes are scarce enough for one little boy’s appetite; but when they are handed over to Jesus they replenish a famishing multitude, and leave twelve baskets over for the Lord’s own servants. If only our resentings and refusings and rebellings and resistings could be eliminated, then faith would prove it today as ever “Out of weakness were made strong.”
The subterranean world beneath northern California is boiling hot -- hot enough to produce vast caverns of superheated steam. This area, known as The Geysers, is one of the most active geothermal spots on earth.
Sitting directly atop The Geysers are buildings that house some of the world’s most innovative power generators. Workers have drilled wells two miles deep into the scalding earthen chambers beneath the generators, and as the steam escapes through the wells it turns huge turbines and produces electricity. The Geysers supply nearly 60 percent of the electrical demands from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Oregon border.
Welcome to the world of renewable energy.
I’m not a scientist or a politician, but I’m interested in being an outspoken advocate for the best source of renewable energy, and that’s spiritual energy. Paul the apostle told the Colossians, “He is the one we proclaim.... I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me” (Colossians 1:28-29, NIV 1984).
The apostle Peter wrote, “His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue” (2 Peter 1:3).
Left to ourselves, we face frequent power outages juggling the demands of work and home and even ministry. We need renewable energy on the inside. If you want to pursue what the Bible has to say about this, open a concordance to the word “power,” which occurs nearly 300 times in the Bible. There’s something about reading Bible verses about spiritual power that imparts strength to us.
Psalm 62:11 says, “Power belongs to God.” According to Psalm 65:6, God is “clothed with power.” Jeremiah 10:12 says that God “made the earth by His power.” Psalm 66:7 says that He “rules by His power forever.”
We can only live for Him effectively when we tap into the infinite source of His power. We’re to be strong in the power of His might (Ephesians 6:10).
Feeling weak?
On earth, we grow tired in body, mind and soul. While our outward self is perishing, our inward self can be renewed daily with God’s renewable energy. Psalm 68:35 says, “The God of Israel is He who gives strength and power to His people.”
In studying the word “power” in the Bible, you’ll find secrets to tapping into God’s renewable energy. The first is through praise. We often praise God for His love and grace but fail to rejoice in His power and worship Him for His omnipotence. When King David was surrounded by his enemies, he wrote, “I will sing of Your power; Yes, I will sing aloud of Your mercy in the morning” (Psalm 59:16).
Second, we renew our strength by reading Scripture. The Bible is God’s powerful Word to us; as Psalm 29:4 says, “The voice of the Lord is powerful.”
Third, we renew our strength by waiting on the Lord. The prophet Isaiah said, “Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength” (Isaiah 40:31). It refreshes us when we let go and let God, trusting Him to work according to His own timetable.
Fourth, be filled with the Spirit. One of the greatest benedictions of the Bible says, “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).
Fifth, we need a daily walk with Christ. When we are walking closely with Christ, we are near the power center for the entire cosmos. He radiates “the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:24).
Sixth, we encounter raw power in our lives as we share the Gospel; as the apostle Paul said, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God....” (Romans 1:16).
Finally, cling to the cross. “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing,” Paul noted, “but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18).
Remembering those generators at The Geysers, think of God’s power as vast, endless reserves of geothermal energy. Claim His power to do greater things in your life than ever before!
In a performative age, brazenness gives an illusion of strength.
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For most of the year, a friend in England and I have debated whether his country’s politics are becoming more American. Much of it had to do with the roiling scandals around Prime Minister Boris Johnson. My friend was constantly telling me, “This time, Boris is done for,” but I was never quite sure. Ultimately my friend was right, and Johnson’s Conservative Party forced his resignation. But critics agreed that he stuck it out as long as he did because, as many put it, “Shamelessness is a superpower.”
A sense of personal disgrace used to lead those whose scandalously bad character was exposed to voluntarily step aside in contrition. When the tabloid publishes pictures of the senator with a model on his lap, he would announce that he was going to spend more time with his family. When the tobacco company CEO’s notes are found about how to conceal the addictiveness of nicotine, he would “seek other opportunities.”
This was about more than just a public sense of right and wrong. Most people couldn’t bear the humiliation of the public knowing about their sexual exploitation of an intern or hearing their own recorded voice bragging about how their star power allowed them to grab women by the genitals.
But then the people with this sort of shame were sorted out, leaving behind those who didn’t blush when they said, “It depends on what the meaning of is is” or “This is just locker-room talk.” Those who don’t feel shame have learned that, eventually, most people will be exhausted and move on while their hard-core “base” will learn to normalize whatever the character flaw is.
This is not just in government. If Billy Graham or Mother Teresa had been found to be using donor money to purchase luxury jets, the scandal would have been in the first paragraph of their obituaries. When Kenneth Copeland muses that he can’t do devotions while flying commercial, people shrug and think nothing more of it. In a performative* age, brazenness gives an illusion of strength. After all, to apologize or to repent is to look weak. And when people expect their leaders to be avatars of vicarious power, weakness is the only unforgivable sin.
In such an environment, by sheer Darwinian measures, the shameless are always going to have an advantage. If a lack of shame is what it takes to succeed, sociopaths will proliferate. This is not only in leaders without character but also in followers who come to see character as itself a lack of the strength needed to fight whoever one deems one’s enemies. Those who will shamelessly employ internet troll tactics — whether on the actual internet or in church congregational or denominational meetings — have an advantage over those who would feel shame if they were to employ falsehood or rancor or what the Bible calls “an unhealthy craving for controversy” (1 Tim. 6:4, ESV). Those who can still feel shame, whose consciences are still vulnerable to conviction by the Holy Spirit, will then step back or step away. The shameless will inherit, if not the earth, then at least the political party leadership or the congregation or the school board or the social media feed.
But shame never really goes anywhere but underground. Those who can’t feel it still bear it. They find fig leaves to cover it, even as they project their shame elsewhere (Gen. 3:7–13). Behind those quivering bushes, there are men and women scared of the presence of God — a fear they can easily translate into hostility toward those less shameless (Gen. 4:5–8) or boasting in their shameless dominance over those still weak enough to feel shame (Gen. 4:23–24).
In the short run, shamelessness works. Eventually, though, one must stand before God — naked and unable to fight one’s own conscience with bravado. What is necessary, then, is not what looks strong now, but what looks very weak — the Cross. Against a pagan valorization of power, the apostle Paul delivered the gospel of a naked and tormented man, seemingly “owned” by the torture rack of Caesar, and said of that gospel, “I am not ashamed” (Rom. 1:16).
In a world ashamed of suffering, the Spirit tells us to glory in weakness but to guard character (1 Pet. 4:16). That doesn’t win arguments or gain influence. Those who taught us that ended up in prison or in exile or in borrowed tombs. But the Christian gospel tells us there’s something on the other side of all of that, someone on the other side of all of that, and that he is not ashamed of those who wait without winning by the world’s terms (Heb. 11:16).
Shamelessness is a superpower, unless there’s a God.
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* Performative: made or done for show (as to bolster one's own image or make a positive impression on others)
On the second Sunday of Advent in Charlotte, a great winter storm kept most of our church members at home. Those of us who did find our way into the sanctuary were in decidedly casual mode. My sermon dealt with an interpretation of “Mary’s Song” from Luke 1:46-55.
God has shown strength with God’s arm, and has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. God has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; God has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty (verses 51-53).
Because the worship crowd was small and the setting more relaxed, I invited some “talk back” on the topic of my sermon. Always a dangerous thing for a preacher!
During the sermon, I had explained that Mary’s song was not a reference to some long-forgotten moment in history, some act of God with Old Testament proportion. No. Mary is speaking to us. In the here and the now.
My words prompted a member to comment that he had never heard Mary’s song as a text of social justice – an actual call to challenge the social structure, the economic narrative, the political reality. He had always heard the text “spiritualized.” It was poetry, or metaphor, or maybe a vision of how things ought to be, how they will be – you know, in heaven.
It’s an all-too-common reaction to scripture. When the message gets difficult (as it frequently does), the Church often “spiritualizes” the text, which really means divorcing the otherwise obvious challenge from any practical reality. That way, we can say we believe it, love it, quote it, sing it – but not let it affect our personal comfort or challenge the status quo of church or society.
As various scholars have noted over the years, the Church is always confronted with the challenge: What to do with Jesus? Worship him or serve with him? Deify his sacrifice or honor his death by giving our own lives away in service? Spiritualize his way or invite his way to change ourselves and our world?
Another listener had tuned in via our Facebook Live “broadcast.” (I started worship staring at about 30 intrepid attenders but speaking to my co-pastor Amy’s iPhone: “ ... and we welcome our ‘viewing audience’ as well!”) After worship, the listener messaged me: “So, when has God actually ‘shown strength ... scattering the proud ... bringing down the powerful ... lifting up the lowly ... ‘ etc.?” I can always trust someone in the congregation, whether in the pew or online, to ask the hard questions.
My answer is that the prophets of faith have always pointed us to God’s work in history, to the rise and fall of nations and rulers, to the mystery of providence in the great cataclysms and in the crawling, tragically slow pursuit of the “kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.” Of course, these “movements of God” will be scoffed at by skeptics, even doubted by many thoughtful believers. History, as they say, is always written by the winners – so “history” is always a matter of perspective.
Those same prophets have also reminded us of the work of God through the “losers” – the outcasts, the outsiders, the poor, the weak – the “wounded healers,” not the mighty warriors. (We celebrate a birth in a cattle stall, not a palace. We celebrate the “victory” of crucifixion, not conquest.) But this message is also hard to swallow – as much for the Church as for the rest – because people, all people, are susceptible to the temptation to control, to the abuse of power, to the accommodation of ideology to ego and theology to theocracy. That subversive message of “strength through weakness” is always a hard sell.
Maybe the best answer is that just as we are waiting, watching and wondering what God has been doing, so is God. That skeptical question – “So, where is God?” – is age old. We all answer it in our own way. Some answer in rejection, by walking away; others answer in affirmation, by embracing and engaging the question, even amidst the doubts.
As G.K. Chesterton said, “Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried.” Mary’s song can be made into a pleasing little Christmas carol, a sentimental melody set to the way things have always been, the way things will be in the “by and by.” But maybe the song really is a subversive message of social change, a vision for a new world order.
I guess it depends on how we have been conditioned to hear the song – and how bold we are to sing it.
Next to Jesus, of course, the apostle Paul is the most well-known figure of the Christian faith. Intrepid apostle, church planter, theologian, pastor, writer. Paul is our hero. He models the faith for us.
But a careful reading of his letters demonstrates that he had many enemies both inside and outside the church, and it appears the Christians of his time found him controversial. Sectors of the Christianity of his time passionately challenged and even despised Paul and his ministry. For example, when Paul the prisoner writes to the Philippians, he informs them that some believers around him were talking up Christ, as it were, just to get Paul in more hot water (Phil. 1:15–17). They wanted to ruin his ministry; they wanted to ruin him.
Perhaps the most obvious place to look for an all-out throwdown between Paul and a rival form of Christianity is in 2 Corinthians, where Paul had to defend himself against the attacks of the so-called “super-apostles” (11:5). They slandered him, claiming he did not have the right credentials. They said they were strong, but Paul was weak. They wanted Pauline Christianity to be lesser, and their Christianity to be greater. It seems like there were Christian groups that were constantly trying to extinguish Paul’s influence, drag his name through the mud, and entice his “children” away from him.
I’ve wondered over the years, how did Paul feel about being hated, slandered, and constantly undermined by other Christians? We all want to be liked by as many as possible. We want our ideas and values to resonate. But where there are big ideas and plans, there are critics. With bigger platforms comes wider-spread criticism, which can sometimes bring necessary accountability.
Public criticism has existed from before Paul’s time until now. He, too, was surrounded by noise that told him he was unwelcome, incorrect, even corrupt. How did he deal with that? What did his form of resilient leadership look like? Today, pastors and other kinds of leaders face a barrage of negativity that can seem overwhelming. There is so much noise on social media — good, bad, and neutral — that it is difficult to know who to listen to, who to apologize to, and where to direct one’s voice. After two decades of studying Paul, here are my insights into how his first-century life speaks to us today.
Keep your shape
Over the past half-decade or so, I have become a soccer superfan. I watch European soccer, I watch South American soccer, and I root for my local team in Oregon. There is a phrase you will hear from coaches and commentators about how a struggling team must overcome obstacles in their game: Keep your shape. When the chips are down, when the odds are stacked against you, when you are losing nil-3 before half-time — follow the game plan, remain in your designated positions, trust your other teammates, and stay focused.
Paul seems to have been a “keep your shape” kind of leader. By that I mean that when he saw things going wrong in the churches he founded or for which he was responsible, he didn’t lash out at specific church leaders. Perhaps more strikingly, when outside enemies or troublemakers were involved (as it seems to be the case with Galatians, 2 Corinthians, and perhaps Philippians), Paul focused on forming his people; he did not spend his energy correcting his enemies.
We have about a dozen letters Paul wrote to churches and to individual church leaders like Timothy and Titus. But we don’t have any letters that Paul wrote to his enemies. Certainly, he could have. He could have told them off, he could have warned them, threatened them, argued with them. But it seems that he didn’t. Instead, he had laser-like focus on forming churches and fortifying the faith of his own people.
Yes, of course he was worried about the negative influence of outsiders, but his focus was not on them. He stayed true to his mission and ministry, he kept the shape of his calling, and he refused to get distracted into engaging in theological turf wars to assuage everyone. That’s impossible and we know it, though we sometimes try. Paul kept his eye on and directed his voice towards his own community.
Don’t compare
Paul knew his limitations. God called him to something, he had certain gifts, but he also had weaknesses. The Corinthians (like many of us!) liked to rank leaders and rally behind certain ones (#TeamPaul vs. #TeamApollos). Apollos was the cool new kid on the block. He was a polished and elegant speaker, the Andrea Bocelli of preaching. Paul was not. Paul could have taken shots at Apollos to increase his own stock, but instead he tried to put it all in perspective for the Corinthian Christians: I have my part to play, Apollos has his, God is the one we should really be focused on. He makes it all happen (1 Cor. 1:10–17).
Sometimes social media can feel like a basketball game — I win only if you lose. But when Paul was disliked, rejected, or hated, he didn’t play the game of getting the negative attention off of him by shifting it to someone else. He didn’t play a “win-lose” game with other leaders. He actively discouraged comparing his ministry to others. All of us, Paul said, should be for Team Jesus.
Invite others to “check you out”
Paul was not afraid to defend himself when he was accused of shady behavior or wrongdoing. But he didn’t engage in mudslinging, nor did he lash out. He would just say, Come check me out. My life is an open book. I don’t do back-alley shady deals, I don’t hide my activity. The Thessalonians, for example, apparently had their suspicions of Paul’s behavior.
Without getting defensive or angry, he said, “As you know and as God is our witness, we never came with words of flattery or with a pretext for greed; nor did we seek praise from mortals, whether from you or from others” (1 Thess. 2:5–6, NRSV). Later he reminded them of his public toil and labor: “We worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and God also, how pure, upright, and blameless our conduct was toward you believers” (2:9–10).
You may be despised, disliked, or dismissed, but the best defense is an honest life. Nothing to hide. Paul didn’t lose his cool with the Thessalonians. He invited them to test his life and remember his behavior.
Be wary of naming names
There is another crucial observation to make about how Paul engaged a Christian world of accusation and suspicion: He didn’t name names. That is, though he talks about troublemakers and enemies in several of his letters in the New Testament, we don’t know any of their names. Our modern social-media culture relishes any opportunity to lob grenades by naming (and tagging) wrongdoers, those people that deserve to be called out. Of course, individuals who commit crimes or engage in clearly unethical behavior need to be brought to justice. That’s not what I am talking about here. Such destructive people must be named and denounced. But we often spiral into slandering or mocking anyone we find annoying, offensive, or wrong.
Surely, Paul ran into people like that all the time. And worse, he dealt with bona fide false evangelists. People who could do serious damage to the church and sound theology. But we don’t know any of their names. Paul warned about false leaders regularly, but he was much more concerned with keeping his people on a healthy and true path than conducting witch trials and inquisitions to oust the heretic of the day. (Of course, that never means turning a blind eye to injustice and abuse that conscience calls us to speak against.)
Paul didn’t want to write up a list of people for his people to avoid or hate. He ultimately wanted to teach them to think and discern for themselves, to become masters of the gospel such that they could spot counterfeit theology.
Show weakness
I’m old enough to remember the antiperspirant commercials from the ‘80s: “Never let them see you sweat.” Which really implied, Don’t show effort or weakness; put on a stoic facade of perfection and power. Paul was someone that wasn’t afraid to show his fragility, his weakness, and his needs. He bragged about his failures and limitations (“boasting in weakness”), frustrating any attempts to build a cult around his personality. He didn’t try to repel all criticisms. Sometimes he absorbed them, detecting an opportunity to defuse the mudslinging game.
Paul was not afraid to talk about his disappointments and struggles. He shared moments of fear, sadness, and vulnerability. He talked about his sadness at the thought of his friend Epaphroditus dying (Phil. 2:27). He confessed to the Corinthians that their strained relationship with him brought him to tears (2 Cor. 2:4). One of the most heartbreaking parts of Paul’s letters comes when he informs his friend Timothy that when he went to trial, no one came to his support; he could only lean on the Lord (2 Tim. 4:16–17) and Luke the physician, who visited him in prison (v. 11).
Being a respected and resilient leader should not and cannot include building a protective bubble blocking our failures, struggles, and weaknesses from the outside world. Paul boldly shared openly that he wasn’t perfect and sinless. He was proud of his ministry, but he never pretended to be more than he was. He had regrets. He had low times. He was proudly weak.
Nobody wants to be hated, rejected, or mocked. Sometimes it’s necessary for people to leave the spotlight and the public eye. But for the rest of us, the “noise” of public shaming and derision is par for the course. Paul’s ancient wisdom and model seems to provide a path that avoids knee-jerk counterattacking on the one hand and utter despair on the other.
To the Philippians, Paul once wrote that he tries not to look behind him and dwell on his past of wrongs. He might also be warning us not to spend too much time looking around at what everyone thinks of us. Rather, strain toward what is ahead as you fulfill your calling (Phil. 3:13).
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Nijay K. Gupta is professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary in Lisle, Illinois. He is the author of Paul and the Language of Faith.
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[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #19424]
In a 2023 National Public Radio interview, Russell Moore, author of Losing Our Religion, told a story about a pastor who preached a message from Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount. During his message, the pastor quoted Jesus saying things like “Turn the other cheek” and “Blessed are the peacemakers.”
After the sermon was over, a parishioner asked the pastor, “Where did you get those liberal talking points from?” The pastor said, “I was literally quoting Jesus Christ.” The parishioner responded, “That doesn’t work anymore. That’s weak.”
As he reflected on that incident, Moore said, “When we get to the point where the teachings of Jesus himself are seen as subversive to us, then we’re in a crisis.”
“Receive one who is weak in the faith, [but] not to disputes over doubtful things. For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats [only] vegetables. Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him.” (Romans 14:1-3 NKJV)
The Weak In Faith
• weak…faith — 1 Cor 9:22 — especially about meats and days
• receive — on the ground of his faith in Christ
• not…disputations — concerning his views on minor matters
• eat…things — Gen 9:3-4 — as indeed physiology teaches
• weak…herbs {vegetables} — so the vegetarian is weak
• despise — Dan 1:8, Acts 10:14 — for he may be conscientious, or have a peculiar constitution
• let…eateth — the weaker brethren are not to rule the world. The weakness of some may, through lack of charity, become an instrument of tyranny to others
• God…him — Acts 10:34-35 — i.e., him that eateth, and him that eateth not
Judge not — Starcke
Judge not from –
I. Partiality;
II. Suspiciousness, or want of love;
III. Self-love;
IV. Censoriousness;
V. Envy and malice
The Christian view of human faults — Ubher
I. Strict towards itself.
II. Mild towards others.
How we are wont to act — Uhle
With respect to –
I. Our neighbour’s faults;
II. The injustice done him;
III. His known necessities.
The in clination to a merciful judgment — Burk
I. Who gives it?
II. How is it exercised?
III. Who rewards it?
Infirm Christians — Weak Christians have infirmities, but infirmity supposes life; and we must not despise them-not in heart, word, or carriage. We must rather deny ourselves than offend them. We must support them — bear them as pillars bear the house as the shoulders a burden; as the wall the vine; as parents their children; as the oak the ivy. And this because they are brethren. Are they not of the same body? Shall the hand cut off the little finger because it is not as large as the thumb? Do men throw away their corn because it comes into their barns with chaff? They are weak. Bear with them out of pity. In a family, if one of the little ones be sick, all the larger children are ready to attend it, which they need not do if it were well. It should be done, likewise, because Jesus Christ does so. “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ” — the law of His command, and the law of His example. He takes special care of His lambs, will not quench the smoking flax, and is touched with the feeling of our infirmities. — P. Henry
°If anything be the exclusive property of each individual, it is his belief; and I hope I should be one of the last men living who could harbour a thought of obtruding my own belief on the free minds of others.” — Sir W. Jones
“In such points as may be held diversely by divers persons, I would not take any man’s liberty from him; and I humbly beseech all men that they would not take mine from me.” — Abp Bramhall
When Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated, he instinctively threw up his hand in the Hindu gesture of forgiveness. Gandhi understood what Jesus was about, or else he never could have said, "The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is an attribute of the strong."
Every time the economy - or corporate profits - take another dip in their roller coaster ride, you start hearing corporations saying "that" word again. Downsizing. Many companies have - and probably will - come to the conclusion that one way to increase their profitability is to decrease the number of employees they have. So they downsize ... to be more successful.
Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A WORD WITH YOU today about "Downsizing For Success."
Actually, God believes in downsizing, too - as His strange means of bringing about something bigger. In fact, that may be what He's doing in your life right now.
He sure did it to Gideon, in our word for today from the Word of God in Judges 7, beginning in verse 2. Here's the situation - the Midianites have invaded Israel year after year during harvest time to plunder their harvests, and nobody has been able to stop them. God calls Gideon to do it - even though Gideon argues that he is maybe the least qualified guy around. Of course, this happens a lot in the Bible - and still today.
Gideon is able to muster an army of 32,000 men - to go against a Midianite army of 132,000 men! And "the Lord said to Gideon, 'You have too many men for Me to deliver Midian into their hands." I'm sure Gideon didn't laugh, but I can't help it. Outnumbered four to one, and he's got "too many" men? God tells him to let go anyone who is afraid - and suddenly Gideon has twenty-two thousand men. Now he's outnumbered about six to one. After God has him downsize again, Gideon has 300 men left. He's outnumbered more than 40 to 1 now! But miraculously, that force wins the battle, and the Midianites aren't seen again!
Now why does God follow this strange plan for winning - reducing, taking away, cutting back, making smaller? God gave His reason to Gideon - "in order that Israel may not boast against Me that her own strength has saved her." It is a pattern throughout the Bible - God loves to win major victories with inadequate resources. He arranges mismatches and impossible situations so we will see how big He is and He will get all the glory!
God knows we all have pride issues ... we tend to be controlling people ... we tend to rely on the methods that have always seemed to get it done for us. But God puts us in situations where, like Gideon, we're left saying, "If there's a victory here, it's going to have absolutely nothing to do with me." So if you find yourself out-manned, out-gunned, under-resourced right now ... if it seems like God has been cutting you back and putting limitations on you - realize this may very well be the prelude to an amazing victory!
God is working on that wonderful addition and subtraction thing He does - John puts it this way: "He must become greater; I must become less." As God reduces the amount of you there is, He is increasing the amount of Him there is in the situation. He's been downsizing you so there can be more of Him - so He can show you a victory bigger than you ever thought you could be a part of. God isn't downsizing you so you'll lose - He's downsizing you for a victory so big that only He can get the glory for it!
________________
Copyright © Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc., PO Box 400, Harrison, AR 72602. Used by permission. Written by Ron Hutchcraft. "Practical Answers to Real Life Issues"
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”Out of weakness were made strong.” — Hebrews 11:34.
Think of this in relation to suffering. Most of us think that suffering will break us; but the fact is, that suffering trustfully submitted to, and sanctified by the Holy Spirit, is one of Heaven’s surest means of lifting Christian believers from spiritual immaturity and instability into spiritual mellowness and strength. When the faith principle triumphs in us, then, so to speak, by the homeopathic process of “like curing like”, our weakness, with God in it, becomes the very thing which ends our weakness. It is the same with fear. When our fear so drives us to God that we utterly hide in Him, then our very fear becomes the catalyst which cures fear by provoking its opposite. When the faith principle so triumphs in us that we gratefully see God even in permitted suffering, and hand it over to Him to sanctify it to us, then suffering, instead of breaking us, lifts us up on eagle wings.
Some time ago, I was reading in a horticultural magazine that flowers are really the product of the plant’s weakness. The main strength goes into making stems and stalks; then, out of its failing strength, or weakness, the plant can only produce the delicate but beautiful petals of flowers! In this light, think of the glorious triumph of the flowers, season after season, all the world round. What a victory of weakness issuing in loveliness and fragrance!
Several times, recently, in a western city, I have had the privilege of meeting a dear Christian brother who has been a helpless invalid for over fifteen years. He loves the house of God, and is brought to the services on a stretcher. There he lies and listens flat, rigid, arms and legs paralysed, hands and feet twisted, both eyes now blind, but a brightness on his face which reminds one of a pleasant sunrise. One day a middle-aged lady told me that she had formerly been his nurse. She had not wanted to look after such a helpless case, but now she could never thank God enough that she had been given the privilege, for it was her dear invalid who had brought her to Christ. About the same time I learned that one hundred and sixty other persons had been converted to Christ through him, some by letter, some by interview, some by telephone. Again and again people call him by phone on spiritual matters. He “rejoices evermore” and is “always abounding in the work of the Lord.” He has transformed his very helplessness into a vehicle of service for Christ.
When once faith imports God into a matter, all is changed. Lazarus sickness becomes “that the Son of God might be glorified thereby” (John 11:4). A bow drawn “at a venture” pierces the joints of an Ahab’s armour (I Kings. 22:34). We are all needing to learn this lesson afresh “Out of weakness were made strong.” We need to learn it again in relation to character and service and suffering.
A shepherd’s rod is a dead stick in Aaron’s hand until God is in it; then it buds and blossoms and bears fruit (Numbers 17:8). Five little barley loaves and two little fishes are scarce enough for one little boy’s appetite; but when they are handed over to Jesus they replenish a famishing multitude, and leave twelve baskets over for the Lord’s own servants. If only our resentings and refusings and rebellings and resistings could be eliminated, then faith would prove it today as ever “Out of weakness were made strong.”
In a performative age, brazenness gives an illusion of strength.
________
For most of the year, a friend in England and I have debated whether his country’s politics are becoming more American. Much of it had to do with the roiling scandals around Prime Minister Boris Johnson. My friend was constantly telling me, “This time, Boris is done for,” but I was never quite sure. Ultimately my friend was right, and Johnson’s Conservative Party forced his resignation. But critics agreed that he stuck it out as long as he did because, as many put it, “Shamelessness is a superpower.”
A sense of personal disgrace used to lead those whose scandalously bad character was exposed to voluntarily step aside in contrition. When the tabloid publishes pictures of the senator with a model on his lap, he would announce that he was going to spend more time with his family. When the tobacco company CEO’s notes are found about how to conceal the addictiveness of nicotine, he would “seek other opportunities.”
This was about more than just a public sense of right and wrong. Most people couldn’t bear the humiliation of the public knowing about their sexual exploitation of an intern or hearing their own recorded voice bragging about how their star power allowed them to grab women by the genitals.
But then the people with this sort of shame were sorted out, leaving behind those who didn’t blush when they said, “It depends on what the meaning of is is” or “This is just locker-room talk.” Those who don’t feel shame have learned that, eventually, most people will be exhausted and move on while their hard-core “base” will learn to normalize whatever the character flaw is.
This is not just in government. If Billy Graham or Mother Teresa had been found to be using donor money to purchase luxury jets, the scandal would have been in the first paragraph of their obituaries. When Kenneth Copeland muses that he can’t do devotions while flying commercial, people shrug and think nothing more of it. In a performative* age, brazenness gives an illusion of strength. After all, to apologize or to repent is to look weak. And when people expect their leaders to be avatars of vicarious power, weakness is the only unforgivable sin.
In such an environment, by sheer Darwinian measures, the shameless are always going to have an advantage. If a lack of shame is what it takes to succeed, sociopaths will proliferate. This is not only in leaders without character but also in followers who come to see character as itself a lack of the strength needed to fight whoever one deems one’s enemies. Those who will shamelessly employ internet troll tactics — whether on the actual internet or in church congregational or denominational meetings — have an advantage over those who would feel shame if they were to employ falsehood or rancor or what the Bible calls “an unhealthy craving for controversy” (1 Tim. 6:4, ESV). Those who can still feel shame, whose consciences are still vulnerable to conviction by the Holy Spirit, will then step back or step away. The shameless will inherit, if not the earth, then at least the political party leadership or the congregation or the school board or the social media feed.
But shame never really goes anywhere but underground. Those who can’t feel it still bear it. They find fig leaves to cover it, even as they project their shame elsewhere (Gen. 3:7–13). Behind those quivering bushes, there are men and women scared of the presence of God — a fear they can easily translate into hostility toward those less shameless (Gen. 4:5–8) or boasting in their shameless dominance over those still weak enough to feel shame (Gen. 4:23–24).
In the short run, shamelessness works. Eventually, though, one must stand before God — naked and unable to fight one’s own conscience with bravado. What is necessary, then, is not what looks strong now, but what looks very weak — the Cross. Against a pagan valorization of power, the apostle Paul delivered the gospel of a naked and tormented man, seemingly “owned” by the torture rack of Caesar, and said of that gospel, “I am not ashamed” (Rom. 1:16).
In a world ashamed of suffering, the Spirit tells us to glory in weakness but to guard character (1 Pet. 4:16). That doesn’t win arguments or gain influence. Those who taught us that ended up in prison or in exile or in borrowed tombs. But the Christian gospel tells us there’s something on the other side of all of that, someone on the other side of all of that, and that he is not ashamed of those who wait without winning by the world’s terms (Heb. 11:16).
Shamelessness is a superpower, unless there’s a God.
________
* Performative: made or done for show (as to bolster one's own image or make a positive impression on others)
Every time the economy - or corporate profits - take another dip in their roller coaster ride, you start hearing corporations saying "that" word again. Downsizing. Many companies have - and probably will - come to the conclusion that one way to increase their profitability is to decrease the number of employees they have. So they downsize ... to be more successful.
Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A WORD WITH YOU today about "Downsizing For Success."
Actually, God believes in downsizing, too - as His strange means of bringing about something bigger. In fact, that may be what He's doing in your life right now.
He sure did it to Gideon, in our word for today from the Word of God in Judges 7, beginning in verse 2. Here's the situation - the Midianites have invaded Israel year after year during harvest time to plunder their harvests, and nobody has been able to stop them. God calls Gideon to do it - even though Gideon argues that he is maybe the least qualified guy around. Of course, this happens a lot in the Bible - and still today.
Gideon is able to muster an army of 32,000 men - to go against a Midianite army of 132,000 men! And "the Lord said to Gideon, 'You have too many men for Me to deliver Midian into their hands." I'm sure Gideon didn't laugh, but I can't help it. Outnumbered four to one, and he's got "too many" men? God tells him to let go anyone who is afraid - and suddenly Gideon has twenty-two thousand men. Now he's outnumbered about six to one. After God has him downsize again, Gideon has 300 men left. He's outnumbered more than 40 to 1 now! But miraculously, that force wins the battle, and the Midianites aren't seen again!
Now why does God follow this strange plan for winning - reducing, taking away, cutting back, making smaller? God gave His reason to Gideon - "in order that Israel may not boast against Me that her own strength has saved her." It is a pattern throughout the Bible - God loves to win major victories with inadequate resources. He arranges mismatches and impossible situations so we will see how big He is and He will get all the glory!
God knows we all have pride issues ... we tend to be controlling people ... we tend to rely on the methods that have always seemed to get it done for us. But God puts us in situations where, like Gideon, we're left saying, "If there's a victory here, it's going to have absolutely nothing to do with me." So if you find yourself out-manned, out-gunned, under-resourced right now ... if it seems like God has been cutting you back and putting limitations on you - realize this may very well be the prelude to an amazing victory!
God is working on that wonderful addition and subtraction thing He does - John puts it this way: "He must become greater; I must become less." As God reduces the amount of you there is, He is increasing the amount of Him there is in the situation. He's been downsizing you so there can be more of Him - so He can show you a victory bigger than you ever thought you could be a part of. God isn't downsizing you so you'll lose - He's downsizing you for a victory so big that only He can get the glory for it!
________________
Copyright © Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc., PO Box 400, Harrison, AR 72602. Used by permission. Written by Ron Hutchcraft. "Practical Answers to Real Life Issues"
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If you want to be a leader who attracts quality people, the key is to become a person of quality yourself. Leadership is the ability to attract someone to the gifts, skills, and opportunities you offer as an owner, as a manger, or as a parent. I call leadership the great challenge of life.
What's important in leadership is refining your skills. All great leaders keep working on themselves until they become effective. Here are some specifics:
1) Learn to be strong but not rude. It is an extra step you must take to become a powerful, capable leader with a wide range of reach. Some people mistake rudeness for strength. It's not even a good substitute.
2) Learn to be kind but not weak. We must not mistake kindness for weakness. Kindness isn't weak. Kindness is a certain type of strength. We must be kind enough to tell somebody the truth. We must be kind enough and considerate enough to lay it on the line. We must be kind enough to tell it like it is and not deal in delusion.
3) Learn to be bold but not a bully. It takes boldness to win the day. To build your influence, you've got to walk in front of your group. You've got to be willing to take the first arrow, tackle the first problem, discover the first sign of trouble.
4) You've got to learn to be humble, but not timid. You can't get to the high life by being timid. Some people mistake timidity for humility. Humility is almost a Godlike word. A sense of awe. A sense of wonder. An awareness of the human soul and spirit. An understanding that there is something unique about the human drama versus the rest of life. Humility is a grasp of the distance between us and the stars, yet having the feeling that we're part of the stars. So humility is a virtue; but timidity is a disease. Timidity is an affliction. It can be cured, but it is a problem.
5) Be proud but not arrogant. It takes pride to win the day. It takes pride to build your ambition. It takes pride in community. It takes pride in cause, in accomplishment. But the key to becoming a good leader is being proud without being arrogant. In fact, I believe the worst kind of arrogance is arrogance from ignorance. It's when you don't know that you don't know. Now that kind of arrogance is intolerable. If someone is smart and arrogant, we can tolerate that. But if someone is ignorant and arrogant, that's just too much to take.
6) Develop humor without folly. That's important for a leader. In leadership, we learn that it's okay to be witty, but not silly. It's okay to be fun, but not foolish.
Lastly, deal in realities. Deal in truth. Save yourself the agony. Just accept life like it is. Life is unique. Some people call it tragic, but I'd like to think it's unique. The whole drama of life is unique. It's fascinating. And I've found that the skills that work well for one leader may not work at all for another. But the fundamental skills of leadership can be adapted to work well for just about everyone: at work, in the community, and at home.
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