God has empowered us to make things happen. But our strength is not for our own selfish pursuits or to wield without the discipline of self-control. We must learn to harness our strength and use it for good.
As with many things in life, it seems we’re prone to go to the extremes in how we handle our strength.
On the one hand, it’s the bully or outright tyrant who pushes others around to satisfy his own interests. There’s no care or concern for others and they’re merely pawns in his agenda.
To be fair, our strength can also bring harm by simply being overzealous and undisciplined. This is the bull in the china shop that wants to bring good but is clumsy and breaks a lot in the process.
And at the other end of the continuum are those castrated and have become passive in their life and relationships. While nice and cuddly on the outside, they lack the inner vitality needed to come through for others and to fight the good fight.
Harnessed strength first acknowledges we have a power to wield, but that it’s also a power in service of a higher good.
We don’t get to do what we want with the strength given to us – neither using it selfishly, failing to discipline it, nor burying it in passivity.
Our growth into maturity requires us to learn how to use our power for the sake of love – bringing more life and goodness into the world.
We allow pain, suffering, and chaos to increase when we don’t.
Harness your strength and let the power God has given you be a force of good throughout your life and relationships.
Photo by James Garcia on Unsplash
