Our Greatest Strength

Each of us has the potential to be incredible in our own way; we all have things we are good at and things that push us in life. There are things that just come naturally to us and some things that almost seem impossible for us yet others seem to accomplish them with ease. An example for me is art, I am awful. I cannot seem to even draw a stick figure, but I have some of my closest friends who are INCREDIBLE artists. Is it fair that they have those strengths and I don't? Yes it is completely fair, first off, they have put much more time and effort into refining those skills, and also I have strengths that they may not have.

These strengths and weaknesses play a key role in our lives, but they are not what I refer to as our greatest strength. I speak in context of a world of obedience, virtue, and good living. We all have things that we know are not good for us, yet they seem very hard for us to avoid. These can simply be called our struggles. In the same respect there may be temptations in life that have little or no influence over us. One person may never have the temptation to lie, no matter how uneasy, awkward, or self incriminating the situation may be, however that same person may struggle with stealing. Nothing huge, but maybe they are at a grocery store and see a candy bar they like, it feels so easy to slip it into their pocket, deep down they know its wrong, but it is very hard for them to avoid making the action. This individual does have a strength in the fact that they do not lie, but I would say that if they have the ability to control them self and keep from stealing, that is a much greater strength. The hardest things for us in life are what need our greatest attention and take the most out of us to overcome. Look at a drug addict who is striving to overcome their addiction, it is incredibly difficult and almost always requires the help of the people around them. Is this a weakness? The drug addiction is a weakness, but if they are striving to overcome that weakness that shows incredible strength and personal desire to become their best. Each and every one of us will make mistakes in life, some big and some little. It is very easy for us to judge others when their weakness may be something that we find very easy, but we HAVE to realize we are different people. Being willing to understand the people around us is essential for a strong relationship.

What is our greatest strength? I would say it is our ability to overcome our weaknesses. Will this happen overnight? Of course not, if it did it would be easy. Are we going to slip? It is a possibility, but with consistent effort and a constant desire to avoid whatever it may be we can turn that weakness into something that will only tempt us on occasion, and with the strength we have refined, that temptation will not come out victorious.