"If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness."
(2 Corinthians 11:30)
Those darn "super-apostles." Paul had started this church in Corinth (and many others like it elsewhere in the Mediterranean), but later some self-proclaimed super apostles came and sought to change the message Paul had rooted them in. Their case was made by a series of accomplishments they made sure the church knew about. And boy, it must have been impressive.
So Paul hears about it and is worries. Not worried that he'd no longer be "the man" in the eyes of the people in Corinth... but rather that these "new and improved" leaders would actually lead the church away from God! So he writes back to the people and starts boasting, too. Chapter 11, verses 21-29 list his boasts - including his beatings, imprisonments, whippings, stonings, shipwrecks, hunger & thirstings, homelessness stints, and numerous dangers (with some near-death experiences!). Not a very "sexy" list of "accomplishments." Actually, they reveal his weaknesses. And that's exactly what he wants them to see. "I'll boast in the things that show my weakness," he writes. Why? Well, in the next chapter he'll explain it in more detail (see 2 Cor. 12:9), but suffice it to say he knows that it's not about him, and it's all about God!
In this world of resumes, awards, accomplishments & accolades, maybe we need to refocus on our weaknesses a little bit more. Maybe we need to take a step back and see how we're not all that we need to be, so we can be more open to how God might truly be able to use us. It sounds strange, I know... that God might be able to do more with us when we're not "all that and a bag of chips," but rather just a broken person open & ready to be whomever God calls us to be. For it truly isn't about us at all. It's all about God. That's not weak... that's true strrength! AMEN.
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