I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. (2 Corinthians 12:9)Don't talk. This is one of the lessons pounded into dysfunctional families. Don't talk about the bruises; don't talk about the infidelities; don't talk about the family shame... the proverbial elephant in the room. Our heroes from film and literature tell us much the same thing. Don't talk about weakness unless it's someone else's. Be strong and, if that's not possible, keep quiet and pretend to be strong so as to avoid someone exploiting the chinks in our armor.
Unfortunately this same tendency has leached into the church. There is a tacit understanding that we must never air our dirty laundry, and always put on our Sunday face for church. Don't let anyone in. Don't admit you need help.
By contrast, James writes about confessing our faults to one another that we may be healed (James 5:16), and in Life Together, Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes regarding a brother who is struggling: The Christ in his own heart is weaker than the Christ in the heart of his brother. [1] Satan loves secrets.
In today's reading, Paul reminds us that only in our weakness can we be strong. If boasting about my weaknesses allows Christ's strength to rest on me, what about my secrets? Does not staying silent then hinder Christ's strength from working in my life?
Is there a weakness in your life for which you need Christ's strength?
[1] Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Life Together. (San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1954), 23.
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