weakness

Our world is obsessed with status and achieving high standards of performance, which apparently directly relates to ones success as an individual. As humans, we innately desire to do something meaningful and impactful with our lives. Whether we admit it or not, we realize how short our time on earth is and while we are here we want to leave an impression and achieve greatness. Often times, these desires turn into a lust for power and strength. If becoming successful and great is the ultimate goal of humans then power and strength should be applauded right? For some reason this appears distorted because for many of us, we recognize how futile these efforts are in the grand scheme of life, especially when these ambitions can be taken from us so quickly. Regardless, there always will be a piece of us that strive to be strong and known. If asked whether you would rather be strong or weak, it would obviously be strong. The weak are the people who barely get by, those that are insignificant, and the ones that are shunned by society as a whole, the secular community as well as the church in many instances. Who would want to be weak or even associate themselves with those individuals that are? Well for starters what about Mother Teresa, Mahatma Gandhi, or Jesus? These people saw the value and beauty in being weak according to the world's standards, and even went so far as to constantly surround themselves with the downtrodden. I do not imagine them being incredibly concerned with the next promotion, the status quo, or achieving the greatness and strength that man applauds. Jesus, for example, said "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." He also said, "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God." But what about the strong, the wealthy, and the self righteous? Again and again, Jesus sought out the weakest of the weak, and desired to be around them. This simple illustration points to how precious and valuable the weak are, not according to the world, but according to God. Was not Christ the ultimate example of becoming weak when He so humbly put Himself on the cross? I have been reminded of this truth recently, and it has forced me to examine whether I value strength or weakness. If I am constantly striving to become like Christ and experience personal growth, becoming weak must be at the core of my being. This may sound incredibly foolish, and I hope it does because that means I am getting the point across. Big picture, there is something valuable and everlasting about becoming weak instead of chasing after strength and power, which may only last for a season. As I continue to discover the beauty in aspiring towards weakness, I hope you will join me.