Weakness

If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.   ~2 Corinthians 11:30

Who does that???? Who would brag about what they can't do? Most people would brag about what they can do. Now, I know in moments of insecurity I will say something about one of my perceived imperfections to beat someone else to the punch, or because I just know they are thinking it.


"I just could not do anything with my hair. I'm sorry you have to look at it."

"I sure feel fat today."

"That cake probably isn't very good. I think I over-baked it."


But Paul does not seem like the insecure type. In fact, over and over again, he shows just how self-aware he is. In this first letter to the Corinthians he says, "For Christ did not call me to baptize, but to preach the gospel - not with words of human wisdom,....." (1 Cor 1:17) 2 Corinthians 11:6 says, "I may not be a trained speaker, ......"Amazing! God called him to preach, but did not gift him with a great ability to speak??!! That's nuts! What was God thinking? 

More often than not, God calls us to do things we are not equipped for. Why? Several reasons, I think. First, because God doesn't need our ability. The power of the message of Christ is enough to change the world. Paul explains in the second half of First Corinthians 1:17 that he wasn't called to speak eloquently "...lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power." If someone comes to Christ based on a person's ability to speak and persuade, then what happens when trouble comes? Did she follow Christ for the right reasons?

Secondly, so that we won't rely on our own abilities. He reprograms our thinking so that we don't automatically assume that we should do what we are gifted to do. It's totally contrary to what this world thinks. It's kingdom thinking.

Thirdly, he wants us to rely on him. He wants to show us things we would never see on our own. When we get into his word and know him, he empowers us to do what we can't do.

Also, I think he calls us to do what we don't feel gifted to do so that we won't get a swelled head. Pride kills our relationship with God. And that's what he wants more than anything, a relationship with us.

So, Paul's assertion of his weakness is not self-deprecating. It's an honest and accurate appraisal of his relationship with God. If we want to truly fulfill our purpose in Christ, we've got to start pushing aside thoughts of inadequacy and start embracing the truth that God can do more in us than we can possibly imagine if we let him.