I was at an all staff day with the 11 other church employees this week. At one point in the afternoon, we went through as individuals and answered two questions for each other. The first question was, What is one strength that you have that you would like to use more this year? Some people took a while to think of theirs, other's found theirs right away. There wasn't a lot that shocked me during this part of the process.
The second question asked has spawned my line of thinking for this blog tonight. What is one of your weaknesses that you need the team's help with this year? I again, wasn't astonished by anyone's answers and was pleased with how open and honest people were. But there was something that struck me. At first, I though we were all trying to justify our weaknesses. When it came to our strengths people easily threw out one, but when it came to our weaknesses, many answers started with, because of "x" I have this weakness. We hadn't even mentioned our weaknesses yet, and had already begun to justify why we thought they were okay. It seemed, childish and awkward to me.
I have since continued evaluating. So many people could clearly and logically show that their weakness existed because of the combination of two or three strengths. I am a realistic, logical, strategic, and analytical person, and thus appropriate faith and stepping out into unknown is a weakness of mine. Not because I don't believe in it, or find it difficult, but because it is so far from the natural (and supernatural) way that I am created. I have thus been asking myself the question, are we created with weaknesses? I understand that many people have certain weaknesses we can all agree upon. But are these created or chosen weaknesses? I was not created with a weaknesses for productivity, I've just chosen laziness. I wasn't created with a weakness in humility, I just struggle with the sin of pride. I wasn't created with weakness in love, I've just chosen selfishness and anger.
We can spot many "weaknesses" in people, but I can't think of anyone created with a weakness in something that matters. I contend differently, that we are all created good (read the Bible) and that we have all made choices that have ruined that good (again the Bible). Most importantly, I don't believe that I am weak in an area, or at least I don't want that to be my focus. My "weakness" of faith (which is a result of my strengths and gifts) has spurred me to areas of study and thought that faith would have ignored. Conversations I have and questions I understand and process happen only because of my strengths, and had faith been added to these (faith isn't a strength of mine, but as of yesterday has ceased to be a weakness) I would be vastly unmoved in many areas of life that I have come far in.
Evaluate your life. What have your strengths far surpassed another area of life in? Don't count this area as a weakness, but realize and understand that you were created uniquely, with a unique purpose, and that you have something unique that you can offer. I'm interested enough, start offering it to me. Show me what faith looks like. Show me what the strength of love can accomplish. Who out there can act empathetically at all times? Who knows they have the gift of hospitality, or grace, or mercy, or adaptability, or worship or.....? Don't make me start publishing names on the internet. I know many of you have strengths. They are so easy to see (for me who can analyze well). If you don't know what they are, start asking, someone can point them out. I specifically would love to talk to you about your strengths, and how that makes some areas of life frustrating (not weak) for you. I'd love to talk about what our responses are when we see the people who excel in the areas our strengths exclude.
Let's move forward.
"For we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved." Hebrews 10:39 (My life theme verse)
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
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4 comments:
I think we were created with weaknesses to force us to be more prone to use our God given strengths. When we realize what our weaknesses are, we can also work at ways to get the job done in spite of those weaknesses. This could also force us to work on areas that we are weak, transforming us into better people. Do you think God would put a weakness in a person not intending for that person to overcome that weakness and therefore be better off from the achievement of overcoming that particular weakness?
I realize that this comment may not have the best timing and I should have posted it earlier, but here it is anyway...
What if we were created with weaknesses that will always be weaknesses? What if the purpose is was not that we develop that part of our life into a strength but that we had no other option than to rely on something or someone else? I am sure that if I even had the option of becoming completely self reliant then I would work to attain that rather than trusting and remembering that it is God who chooses to use me to effect change in this world.
I have no problem saying that areas of our lives will always be left far behind some of our gifted areas, i just don't know that i think they are "weaknesses."
I agree that we won't be gifted appropriately to be self-reliant, though many people think that they have been.
I can also agree that it is often easier to see God working through the areas of our lives that we don't consider gifts, but i don't know that God sees it that way. He is likely just as pleased in how He uses me through teaching as He is in how He uses me through serving others. One of those is a gift, and one is a choice made without my gifts, but both are Him using me.
By the way, who is "an avid fan."
Just curious, you can e-mail it to me instead of posting it here, but i'd like to know.
Don't be shy.
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