The oak stands strong and beautiful and is greatly prized. It’s strength makes it a wonderful wood to use to build things with. We have all heard the saying though that the mighty oak stands strong against the wind and is broken while the willow bends and lives. The same “weakness” that makes the willow a poor choice of wood to build a house from is exactly what makes it “strong” enough to withstand the hurricane. It is true that our greatest weakness can also be our greatest strength.
How is this so? It is, in my opinion, simply due to the fact that what constitutes strength or weakness has nothing to do with the aspect of character or trait. There are no character attributes that are in and of themselves good or bad. Even the ones I always consider defects of character are not. Jealousy is a prime example. I am hard pressed to think of jealousy as good. And yet, God has said that He Himself is a jealous God. So if it is not the character trait or quality that is in and of itself good or bad, what determines if an aspect of myself is an asset or a defect?
Purpose. When I am outside of myself, when I refuse to be the center of my own universe, when I consider what my God wants from me and for me and do my best to fulfill that in my life, then my sensitivity to others thoughts and feelings becomes a great asset. When I am self-centered and determining my own will for my life, then that same trait becomes a weakness that makes me vulnerable to pain and leaves me susceptible to be controlled by others. When I am loving as God wants me to love, my ability to love is a strength, an asset. But when I am “loving” without regard for His will, when I use love to try to gain something for myself, I once again find myself vulnerable and often slip into the trap of manipulator. When I need to be an objective listener to help a friend, my ability to detach can be a great asset, but detachment for the wrong reasons, at the wrong times, leads to isolation and despair. The pain and suffering I have survived throughout my life can be a weakness that breathes life into the victim mentality that poisons my soul, it can cause me great depression and spur me into the fight or flight response that all too often makes me desire escape any way I can find it, even by destroying myself with drugs and alcohol. But that same pain, each of those same experiences, can enable me to reach and help others that perhaps no one else can. They are my greatest asset, when used correctly.
The key is submitting to the authority and guidance of God in my life. When I surrender to my Higher Power and do what He would have me do, when I seek to be a channel of peace rather than a receiver of peace, where I seek to heal rather than hurt, to bring peace and not discord, to illuminate instead of fight and argue, where I can accept others and be tolerant of views instead of standing on my assurance that I am right and others are wrong, when I seek to live by faith and not be controlled by doubt, to comfort and love rather than to be comforted and loved, when I ache to understand more than I want and need to be understood, when I set myself to live in maximum service to my God and fellow man….then, and only then, am I free of my character defects. Then there are no defects, for every aspect of my being, my love, my anger, my compassion, my detachment, my successes and my failures, every part of me becomes an asset God can use. And when that happens, when I completely submit to the will of God, then I find that I am happy, joyous and free.
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