An Act of Courage

Last week CC Sabathia, a pitcher for the New York Yankees, went into a treatment center for alcoholism. He came in the day before his team’s playoff game and asked to be checked in. Some people may not understand his timing, but it was apparent he recognized his powerlessness to conquer his habit. I actually admire him for his willingness to seek rehabilitation and hopefully move forward in changing his life. He showed great courage by being able to honestly say three simple words: I need help.

Some might perceive those words as a sign of weakness, but I protest that kind of thinking. It’s actually a person with great courage who knows they are not capable of doing something on their own. It takes great strength to admit your weaknesses and realize you must have the help of other people to stand strong. This is where authentic humility can bring us together in unified community. When we admit our individual need for help we become stronger because we stand together.

Settling for Good

Frequent readers of my blog know I am an avid New York Mets fan. I've followed them for years and continue to do so even when they aren't playing great baseball. Earlier this year they had an 11 game winning streak which brought them front page publicity for their accomplishment. I blogged about their streak while also recognizing it may not last forever. Since that run of victories ended my beloved Mets have the second worst record in baseball. There are many excuses to be made (injuries, misfortune, youth) but it doesn't change their overall record.

I thought about the team this morning and the attitude they might be dealing with right now. I'm sure they are working hard to get better and win games, but the truth is that hard work might not make the difference they hoped. At some point we might realize that this just isn't a very good team. No amount of extra work and hustle will transform them into the best in the league if the talent they have isn't good enough to begin with. I'm not discounting the opportunity to make the most of your abilities, but there is a ceiling for all of us=-which will prevent some levels of excellence from being reached.

That's a hard lesson to learn for anyone--sometimes your best isn't enough to deliver what you hoped for. It's why the team concept is so important. We've got to surround ourselves with people whose strengths compensate for our weaknesses.

Strong or Weak?

If you are someone who believes in the power of prayer and God's ability to answer, how would you characterize your prayer life? Would it be a devoted life of conversation with God defined by strong, bold prayers? Or would it be one marked by inconsistency and weak requests?

I've often found that we pray weak prayers because we don't believe God can deliver or we don't think we're worthy enough to have Him answer. The key to moving to a stronger discipline of prayer is to remember it's not about us, but simply our faith in His generous ability.

No Clue

I don't know what I'm doing. That used to be harder for me to admit, but I am starting to get used to that simple fact. It may seem defeatist to some people, but I choose to recognize it as a sign of my weakness and and the possibility of God's strength in action. 

If I'm honest with myself I can see this in the different roles in my life:

• Christ-follower: struggling to live a life of purity and devotion to my Father & King and making it a consistent part of my character

• Pastor: listening intently to God's direction and yet always cautious of what the exact next steps are as we seek to expand our influence and reach more lost people

• Father: understanding my impact on three young ladies and knowing that what I say, do, and think will not only shape them, but the men they choose to spend the rest of their lives with. How am I loving them as God does and helping to prepare them for their future in Him?

• Husband: thinking of her emotions and thoughts first & wanting to lead her to a growing relationship with Christ. It is a heavy responsibility to be the spiritual leader in our home and to understand the impact of my attitude, words, and personal spiritual health on her.

There is the potential of great frustration when you realize you aren't sure what to do next for the best possible impact and influence. I instead choose to look at it as the chance to trust God and allow Him to direct my steps. It sets up a powerful opportunity to see my faith increase as I have no choice but to rely on God's direction and plan to see a chance at success.

Perception

Here's the truth as difficult as it may be to admit: I am not as good at things as I like to think I am. As difficult as this is to admit this is a trait that a lot of us probably share. We can often operate with an overinflated sense of self by taking a personal strength and magnifying it so much that we fool ourselves about its true value. It's a fine line of using what we have to our greatest capacity and overstepping our bounds as ego takes over. I have seen too many good leaders fall victim to this abuse and then wonder how things have crashed around them. 

The flip side to this is that we are also not as bad at things as we tend to think we are either. Crossing the line of self-effacement into self-abuse is an easy step for many. This is often a reflection of poor childhood experiences, a lack of positive mentoring, or destructive self-esteem brought on by the lack of realistic, loving influences. It can be just as devastating as we end up denying our own value leading to an aimless life that ends in harm either physically or emotionally.

The truth is that what we seek is a healthy balance between our positive & negatives attributes.  It's the person that is confident in Christ who is able to accurately measure themselves through the lens of God's strength. We will recognize the need for continued maturity but also celebrate where we currently are. It's the balance found in not overestimating or underestimating ourselves, but in recognizing that all of us belongs to God and He is working in our strengths & weaknesses for our betterment.

There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Hazy Image

Do we see ourselves as we really are? Are we living with an accurate assessment of self or are we calling self-delusion our reality?

We often overestimate our strengths and underestimate our weaknesses. It's a distorted evaluation of the person we actually are that is fueled by our need to protect ourselves. Under the guise of presenting the best image we have told ourselves the same lie for so long that we believe it's the truth. This skewed viewpoint may even appear to be successful from a distance, but will eventually implode (and explode) under the light of reality. 

Recovering from this is not an easy endeavor, but is necessary for maturity, genuine relationships, and spiritual success. We need to bathe in humility, experience brokenness, and give trusted people the freedom to speak the truth in love while grasping the beautiful grace that God offers to His desperate people.