“For God understands how weak we are.” Psalm 103:14 NLT
“You can choose to look past others’ weaknesses, but never ignore your own.”
My thoughts today are that “God knows.”
Have you ever thought of how much energy and effort a person wastes to prevent others from realizing what they don’t know, or noticing what they don’t have, or seeing what they can’t do. We tend to hide our weaknesses, embarrassed by any perceived lack. That is a pointless waste of precious time. You can pretend to be something that you’re not, but all your claims ring hollow and false. Your pretense or protest “would only be making meaningless noise like a loud gong or a clanging cymbal.” 1 Corinthians 13:1 NLT. Nothing pretty in that sound!
You know, and God knows. “For God knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.” Psalm 103:14 NLT. God made you; He knows you. He knows what you are, but also knows what you can be. And if you continue to indulge your failings, others will eventually know, assuming they don’t already. First of all, those areas are more apparent than you may want to believe. People often love us in spite of our areas needing improvement. My dear friend, Campbell, often said, “The biggest room in the world is the room for improvement!”
Additionally, to ignore faults and frailties is to own them – permanently. The only way you become more than you have been is when you honestly recognize how and where you need to be better, and allow yourself no excuse to remain so. Weakness is the very place where you can have the greater potential of becoming strong – if and when you include God in your efforts. Furthermore, I think people who try to ignore their own struggles are more prone to judge and expose the similar failings of others. You can choose to look past others’ weaknesses, but never ignore your own. Read Galatians 6:1 KJV.
Covering and hiding never works; ask Adam and Eve. God honors confession and forthrightness. God does not seem as troubled by honest sinners as He appears to be with the pretentious and self-righteous. Of whose company was Jesus accused of preferring? It was not the Pharisees intent to compliment Jesus for being “the friend of tax collectors and sinners.” Luke 7:33-34 NKJV.
The Pharisees – those religious people proud of legalistic adherence to regulations that control behavior without ever touching the heart – didn’t fit very well with Jesus. They thought too highly of themselves – smug and sanctimonious they could be called – and far too lowly of most others. Jesus neither condones nor condemns the sinner; He offers them forgiveness and the power to change. See 2 Corinthians 5:17. I love the description of those saints “whose weakness was turned to strength.” Hebrews 11:34 NIV. I hope that will also be said of me.
My prayer for you today is that you embrace the opportunity of always becoming better.