Being under oath

We all have strengths and weaknesses.

I do.  We all do.

No one has it all (even Justin Bieber - although he is close).

Sometimes we think that not knowing or articulating our strengths is a sign of ego and pride.

It can be if we talk about them in a boastful, prideful way.

But for most of us, we need to improve in this area of rightly knowing and sharing our strengths (especially in the area of spiritual giftedness) and using those strengths in a profitable way.

While I am thinking about it - as you and I get older - we realize that the key to dealing with our weaknesses is not so much giving a lot of time and energy trying to improve them - as to finding people and seeking out people to be around us who compensate for those weaknesses.

For instance, I would like to think of myself as a "big picture" person - who casts vision and sets goals both personally and for a group of people such as a local congregation.

"Paying attention to the details" is not one of my strengths, so I am constantly seeking out people who "read the fine print" about anything that we are doing.

Now then, back to our strengths.

We can really improve on - in the body of Christ - in sharing and talking about our strengths.

I love this story I found today:

It's a story told about Frank Szymanski, a Notre Dame center in the 1940s, who had been called to testify in a civil suit.

The judge asked him, "Are you on the Notre Dame football team this year?"

"Yes, your honor," he replied.

"What's your position?"

"Center, your honor."

"How good a center?"

Szymanski hesitated for a minute, then said, "Sir, I'm the best center Notre Dame has ever had."

Coach Frank Leahy was in the courtroom at the time. Szymanski's statement surprised him because the player had always been modest and unassuming. Leahy asked him about it and the center replied, "Coach, I hated to say it, but I had to. I was under oath."

I love it.

There is a balance for every follower of Christ to maintain between overestimating your strengths and underestimating the value of your contribution.

Paul was referring to this when he said in Romans 12:3, "For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned."

It takes wisdom to maintain this balance, to evaluate yourself without false humility and without ego-stroking pride, to view yourself as only one part of the body of Christ, but an essential part, with something to offer the whole.
I would ask you today, to take some time to consider your gifts and graces with sober sober judgment.

Think about what you do well.

Think about what you add to the team.

Don't be afraid to speak up.

Don't be afraid to participate.

Remember, you're under oath, too.