Someone mentioned to me the other day that they love when a man acts like a man and takes charge. I’d say that for the most part, most gals do. But all of us at times need to stand strong. People around us many times are looking to us for direction. And, we, who hold firm in our beliefs, need to be strong for those folks. When someone isn’t sure, or is seeking, at times, we are their strength until they get their legs under them.
There are some words of wisdom that come from the Apostle Paul on this subject. You can find them in the book of 1 Corinthians. But here’s how they went down.
Paul was visiting with the Christians living in the city of Corinth in Greece. The Greeks were educated, philosophized, cultured folk to be sure. But the admonition the Apostle gave them was anything but flowery and ethereal. It went more like this:
Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.
Let all that you do be done in love.
Not really something you’d get from a Socrates seminar. But poignant none the less. In addition, what I find fascinating is how this powerful first statement is followed by a comment that some might consider “weak”. Did you notice it? After he tells them to buck up, he says, “…let all that you do be done in love.”
That sounds contradictory and seems to come out of nowhere. What I think he might mean is, to be strong, you don’t have to be ugly, or rude, or mean, or nasty. You don’t have to prove your point or drive it home. Strength comes in lots of different shapes and sizes. I guess it’s for us to learn to figure how that looks and how it works in our particular situations and everyday dealings.
With that, if you find yourself wavering on something today that you know you really need to hang tough on, let this encourage you. Find your way to strength. And then, maybe come back here and share your victory. Just a thought…
S.