Why Be Weak?

As a man, my greatest test of strength comes when my wife asks me to open a jar. Of course, I can open a jar. Enclosed pickles are no match for me. Now, if it pops off right away, I feel like I’m Mr. Olympia and hand the jar back to my wife with a casual smirk of smugness that makes her roll her eyes. But, if I have any trouble, and I mean any trouble, my alarm bells start to go off. Oh my gosh, can I not open this jar? When was the last time I went to the gym? I will not be bested by brine. But the biggest issue for me, as I fight my epic struggle of man vs. pickle, is how my wife sees me. What does she think about me? Suddenly, this isn’t about a jar but my value as a person. 

I hate being weak. At all. From opening jars to ultimate frisbee to bicep curling to financial planning to being a husband, I like to be and feel strong. That goes doubly for my spiritual life because it’s much more important. To me, feeling weak as a disciple is the same as feeling soft as a person. I want to be impressive, admired, and capable. You may not have those same desires. You may want to be powerful, perfect, understanding, unique, helpful, happy, safe, or peaceful. But you probably do have something that you want to be your strength. 

But what if the obsession to be strong keeps us from becoming strong? What if the drive to excel keeps us weak? I’m not saying that we shouldn’t try to improve, but I am saying that many of us may try to improve our lives by emphasizing our strength when embracing our weaknesses allows God to change us. Or, put another way, we’re straining to open a jar that only God can open. 

God is the Great Energizer

In Philippians 2:12-13, Paul exhorts the Philippian church with these words:

“Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” Philippians 2:12-13 ESV

In Paul’s absence, he entrusts the church with the responsibility of “working out their salvation with fear and trembling.” At first glance, that suggests that the community must work to produce their salvation, making me both fearful and trembling-ful. It looks like God will test our strength, and we should fear that test. Verses like these seem to emphasize the importance of our strength rather than diminish it. 

Side note: in case this verse gets you worrying about a works-based salvation, Paul seems to refer to “salvation” not as the “name written in the book of life” type of salvation but rather the kind of life that “salvation” produces. Even in the beginning of the verse, it’s clear that Paul has obedience in mind, not salvation from sin. As Gordon Fee wrote, “Salvation is not only something they receive; it is something they do.”[1] But that still leaves us with the question, how are we to live like a community free from sin? Obedience to God is tough for everyone. We end up back at our strength anyway. 

But look at what immediately follows that phrase. “For it is God who works in you to will and act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” So now it’s confusing. Is it us or God that works for our obedience? It seems that it’s both. 

Without getting too technical in Greek grammar, Paul uses two different words for “works” in these verses, “Katergozomai” for the people and “energeo” for God. The first means “working to achieve something,”[2] and the second means to “be at work, be active, operate, be effective.”[3] There’s a subtle but important difference. The first is to work toward the goal, and the second is to be active within something. The people work for their obedience, but God provides the “will.” As some have put it, the people have to obey, but God is “The Great Energizer.” [4]

Do You Think You’re Weak?

What does this mean for our understanding of weakness? In these two verses, we see the combination of people wanting to obey but lacking the energy and know-how to do it. They want it but can’t achieve it. Like someone needing to open a jar, they can see the pickles, they want the pickles, they may even need the pickles, but no amount of effort has gotten them those pickles. 

At the risk of stretching a metaphor, God is like a bodybuilder sitting in the kitchen, watching the person laboring with the jar. If the person asks for help, the bodybuilder would certainly come over to help. But the bodybuilder wouldn’t ask for the jar. They would hold it with the other person and open it together. Of course, the strength would mostly come from the bodybuilder, but the other person had to hold the jar. 

In the same way, God provides his energy, but we have to use it. We don’t get to excuse ourselves from working, but we don’t have to be the driving force for change. It’s in our weakness, where we admit we do not have the strength, that we choose to either keep struggling, give up the struggle, or ask God to give us the will we don’t have. 

If you’ve ever been trapped in a cycle of sin or an addiction that you cannot kick, no matter how much you try, these verses are for you. Following Jesus is not reserved for those with superior will but for those willing to admit they are without. As the fourteenth-century monk Thomas A Kempis said in his classic work The Imitation of Christ,

“If you wish to learn and appreciate something worthwhile, then love to be unknown and considered as nothing… do not consider yourself better, for you do not know how long you can remain in good estate. All men are frail, but you must admit that none is more frail than yourself.” [5]

Or, as Paul tells Timothy

“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.” 1 Timothy 1:15 NIV

Following Jesus is for those who know they are weak. When we refuse to accept our weakness, we rely on our strength. And ultimately, our strength is found wanting. If we tie our value to our strength, we tether ourselves to something doomed to fail or, more precisely, something that is not universal. Your physical, emotional, and spiritual strength all have a breaking point. Eventually, strength runs out. If you tie your value to your strength, you are worthless when you hit those breaking points. But, if you can embrace your weakness and discover that God bestows greater strength to those in need, you tie your value to something universal – God’s unchanging opinion of you. Those willing to renounce their quest for strength find God’s energy empowering them to will and work beyond even the strongest people powered only by themselves. 

Step into Vulnerability 

Recognizing you have weaknesses doesn’t necessarily get you back to God. The next step is vulnerability. Check out my upcoming book God Loves Losers for the complete picture of Christian Vulnerability, but I’ll give you the short version. When you see a weakness, you can cover it, or you can answer God’s call to step into vulnerability, which is “exposure to meaningful risk.”[6] Repentance requires risk. But God meets us where we are and works with us to change, particularly if we are clumsy beginners. 

So how does someone conditioned to achieve strength turn to God in vulnerability? Here are three suggestions. 

1. Be honest with yourself about your weaknesses. 

A sanitized version of your weakness doesn’t foster a posture where you need God’s strength to change you. Often, we cover our weaknesses with euphemisms to downplay the seriousness of our sin. “I’m struggling,” “I gave in,” and “I’m not where I want to be” are just a few examples of euphemisms. Those things are probably true, but they’re not the full picture. To remind yourself of the source of your strength, give yourself an honest assessment of where you are. Remember, Paul didn’t shy away from writing that he was the worst of sinners. 

2. Be honest with God about your weaknesses.

Jesus knows all about our struggles, but in a relationship, you connect through honesty. Honesty with God is a step into vulnerability. Going to God in prayer and admitting that you cannot become what you hope to be by yourself forces you to trust that he will accomplish what you cannot. And in doing so, you exchange your limited strength for his limitless power. 

3. Be honest with a trusted friend.

Most people can get behind being honest with themselves and God, but they begin to resist when discussing being honest with others. We trust that God is good, but people, not as much. Being honest with someone about our weaknesses is an enormous opportunity to be vulnerable and a poignant test of our willingness to be weak. We risk reputation, respect, and even friendship when we expose our weakness to someone else. 

Do you have anyone with whom you can be truly vulnerable? It doesn’t need to be everyone, but it does need to be someone. As John says in 1 John 1:5-10: 

“This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”

Our willingness to “walk in the light” or be honest about our sins directly relates to our relationship with other Christians and our connection to God. It’s risky but 200% worth it. 

Why be weak? Because it can lead you to real strength. Why be weak? Because it connects you to others. Why be weak? Because it can change you. Why be weak? Because it can bring you back to God. Let us all be willing to acknowledge our weaknesses, reject our diminishing strength, and vulnerably return to God. 

Notes

[1]  Gordon D. Fee, Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm.B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1995), 234.

[2] William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 531.

[3] William Arndt et al., 335.

[4] Gerald F. Hawthorne, Philippians, vol. 43, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 2004), 142.

[5] Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, 1996), 4.

[6] Crouch, Andy. Strong and weak: Embracing a life of Love, risk & true flourishing. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books, an imprint of InterVarsity Press, 2016.