Some years back on TV I watched all these strong guys play around with heavy duty things. Some wore refrigerators and stoves as knapsacks. Others, like the Flintstones, lifted car frames and walked around like we did with empty boxes as kids on Romper Room. They carry truck batteries, pull trains, toss steel or cement balls like marbles for fun.
These are the guys you can picture at a counter laughing and telling jokes. One is on your right & the other on your left. As the jesting continues, one places his hand on your suspenders and the other pats you on the back causing you to go flying through a wall while your drink flies up in the air and when you reach the end of your sling, your suspenders snap you right back like a jet in time to catch your cup and take a drink! “GOOD, EH?” they say as you gulp and try to recover from your sudden trip. When they give you a high-five, they send you flying through windows and landing across the lawn.
Yep, they’re strong alright. They have legs built like concrete pilings, bulging muscles, and necks larger than my thighs. But what if there was a different type of contest? What if there was a “Weak-man’s Competition? Something only for weaklings.
Can you imagine? Who would win? Let’s see. You’d have the Q-Tip lift, the Match-Car lift. They’d lift toothpicks, matchsticks and probably cry, howl, or faint from paper cuts! They’d have to see who could toss a Frisbee and have it land completely behind them. Or who can carry a few whiffle balls!
These are the guys that get sand kicked in their faces all the time. They’re the ones built like toothpicks, in fact, they’d probably snap easily. They’re the ones whose muscles droop down the farthest and they would probably be the most impressive!
There would be the paper airplane flying competition, house of card building, carrying the least amount of water droplet in an eyedropper, and we can’t forget the ultimate swimming- pool noodle challenge where individuals would battle opponents “to-the-end” from a height of 2 inches off the ground for the prestigious All-Around Weakling Award.
Our society is all about strength, mighty deeds, great looks, bodies to-die-for, stiff muscles, stiff hairdos, chiseled jaws, buns of steel, etc.
However, God isn’t impressed by all that, at least not for His kingdom. He doesn’t want our strengths causing us to think we have saved ourselves or that through our power and self-sufficiencies we have acquired our salvation.
Man, in general, wants to be in control. We want to show off our accomplishments, how long we can hold our breath, how long we can pray for, how much we know, how holy we are, etc. Those things lead us to believe we’ve reached God because of things we’ve done. It separates us from others who have done less. God wants our dependency on Him alone.
He did the sacrifice. He bore our sins. He died for us-we didn’t. Therefore, our strengths are of no value to Him. Neither is our wisdom, though He’ll use these later in life once we acknowledge Who’s in charge.
Scripture tells us “Because the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom; and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong; He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things-and the things that are not-to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. Let him who boast boast in the Lord” (1Corinthians 1:25-31).
If we’re going to brag, let’s brag about what God has done in us, not how strong we are or how amazing we were to resist a temptation, etc.
I don’t want to sound as one who has a flaky (potato) chip on my shoulder, but come on, I’ll arm-wrestle you, just don’t squeeze too hard. I don’t want to break a nail.
God Bless,
Sam