The Sin of Strength

“Man is certainly a sinner, but his sin lies not in those weaknesses which can be spied out, but in his strength. Goethe and Napoleon were sinners, not because they were unfaithful husbands, but because of the use of their strength. The Bible never spies out little sins, it deals with more serious issues than scandal columns of the newspapers. What are these sins of strength?”

- Edwin Robertson

-The Shame and the Sacrifice: The Life and Martyrdom of Dietrich Bonhoeffer

When we think about our own sins don’t we usually think about what strengths we posses? I know when I ponder my sin and failures I tend to focus on the areas of my life that I see weakness in. But when I think about the areas of my strengths, I don’t tend to notice my own sin. The strange things is when I look at others I see where they sin in their strengths. Think about it for a moment, when you look at the people around you, don’t you see those who sin in their strengths? The boss who is a good manager can be a person who has to be in control of everyone. The person, who is a good communicator, spends too much time talking about others and spreads gossip. Someone who is good at confidentiality and keeps what is said to them, but secretly is judging others unmercifully.

What about you? What are your strengths? What strengths are taken to an extreme, bringing about a pattern of sin against God and others? I think it is hard to see our sinful nature being acting out in these areas. It’s easy to see it in our area of weakness. In areas where we overindulge, lack will power and self control, but in our abilities, we can be blind in how we hurt others with them. I think it is probably because pride blinds to them. It’s easy to see pride in others, but very difficult to see it in ourselves. Pride is much disguised, hard to pick out and harder to overcome. But when we look at those around us, we can see their pride a mile away. And I am sure those around us can see our own pride clearly.

The sin of strength can be acted out in being unwilling to ask for help. What talents do you posses that you would never ask another for help in? What area do you need growth in, but others see you as strong, so you don’t want to be humble and ask for assistance? Everyone has talents and strengths, no matter how large or small they are, and with these there is always the potential for sin. The sin of pride, the sin of selfishness, the sin of not giving God the credit and honor He deserves, but accepting the glory for ourselves. There is the sin of looking down on others because they aren’t as talented or as strong as you are in certain areas. Think for a moment, why were you given this strength for to begin with? Was it not to help those who are in need? Was it not to help those who are weak? But unfortunately we can boast of our strengths and keep our weaknesses hidden. Humility is not the sign of being weak, but actually is takes more strength to live a life of humility. How could you overcome sin by turning to a life of humility? How could you see your gifts as something to share with those in need, instead of using them for your own pleasure?