Boasting About Weakness

This morning I read Paul’s words, ‘If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.’ It set me on a rambling musing… pride, boasting, achievements… weakness, embarrassment, failure…

On Tuesday night Scotland beat Denmark 4-2 and qualified for next summer’s football World Cup finals. The TV news has replayed all four goals, interviewed Scottish players and ex-players, observed the Scottish celebrations… proud of Scotland’s current achievements, not dwelling on past disappointments.

Last night’s local news featured the Bury St Edmunds Sugar Factory celebrating its 100^th anniversary. Summer fields of sugar beet, lorries carrying sugar beet, and the factory’s five huge concrete sugar silos, are all familiar to us. Managers and factory workers were interviewed, proud of their factory, boasting about its achievements.

Some parents are understandably good at boasting about their young children taking their first steps, reading their first book… growing children playing an instrument, achieving in sport … older children succeeding in exams, passing their driving test. I’ve done it myself.

We don’t hear, ‘I’m proud of my child’s dyslexia… that he failed to have his painting displayed… that she has poor social skills’. What we view as weaknesses or failure we either keep quiet about or seek sympathy, understanding or advice.

In our world success is seen in strength, power and winning. Politicians never admit that they’re wrong; that would show weakness. Successful celebrities can lose their status if they’re shown to be weak…

One place I have observed ‘boasting about weakness’ is in funeral tributes: ‘Arthur had the infuriating habit of…’, ‘In all the years I knew Agnes she was never patient with…’, ‘In church Archie would sing loudly but never in tune…’ It’s a time for lovingly accepting and boasting of weakness.

Admitting my weakness requires honesty, keeps me humble, makes me vulnerable, suggests that it’s OK not to be superman. Boasting of my weakness requires a deeper understanding of the paradoxes of my Christian faith, that giving is receiving, losing is winning… and weakness is strength.