THE WEAKNESS OF STRENGTH

 

There is wisdom in weakness.

Being too strong and powerful can make a person fight unnecessary battles. 

God sometimes works weakness in His people so that they don’t overstep their boundaries.

Too sick to sin. 

Too weak to fight. 

Too poor to waste.

There is hidden wisdom, wealth and prudence in the control and regulation of limited resources.

Sometimes it is not too good to be too strong, too powerful, too beautiful, too resourceful or too rich.

And even if you are all these and more, you should put measures in place to help keep you in check or to regulate you, so you don’t overextend yourself or so you’re not taken advantage of by opportunists.

Let me put it differently: there’s a downside to (and danger in) being or having too much strength, power, beauty, or resources of any kind.

For instance, the beautiful lady has to deal with lots of attention or wooing from men, which becomes especially tempting when these men are wealthy.

Also, the rich and powerful men are faced with the attention and seduction of women, which becomes especially tempting if these women are attractive.

Again, it’s when you’re healthy you can think of engaging or indulging in certain activities, which may not be absolutely necessary or appropriate.

Apart from the external pressure, attacks, or envy (which one may easily identify and mitigate), there is the internal pitfall (where you feel you can and should do certain things which you should not).

This pitfall may be the attitude of complacency in seeking too much comfort, pleasure or indulging in certain lifestyle choices, which you hitherto would not have considered an option to put resources in.

It may also manifest itself as cockiness, or some corrupted forms of courage or confidence, where you challenge or compete with people who you should be working with, serving or learning from.

Being too strong can make you less discrete in your pick of battles, as you have the needed strength to face and fight anyone, anywhere and at anytime.

You tend to engage in wars you shouldn’t be in.

You get involved in activities, social or business, which you have no business getting involved in, or going where you have no business going to and doing things you have no business doing. 

You have too much time, energy and resources. 

You consciously or unconsciously need to express your strength.

Sometimes, you feel like you need to teach some arrogant ignoramuses a little life lesson.

You’re even tempted and triggered more easily.

Alternatively, on the (good) flip side, when you have too much resources, and you’re generous, you just want to help others sometimes indiscriminately, and this wonderful attitude and gesture may set you up for being taken undue advantage of by crafty folks.

You will just be giving to people anywhere and anyhow, once you see they have a need or once they present their problems to you, and you feel that you can help in anyway, you keep helping.

Perhaps until you crash or burnout.

Some people who in love, compassion, kindness, gratitude and solidarity have reached out, or gone out of their way, to help others have only incurred envy, spite, pain and sorrow to themselves.

For example, a young man or woman gets a new well-paying job and then runs into an elderly man who used to be their school bus driver and who is still a driver, then this young man or woman goes to the elderly man to introduce themselves and to give them some good money out of love, honor and gratitude to the elder man who at one time was their school bus driver. The old man receives the money with pretended happiness but is inwardly sad and envious, and even goes to great lengths with conspiracy to see to it that the young man or woman is robbed, sabotaged, or taken advantage of them with many different heart-touching stories of his problems and family predicaments, which all turn out to be totally false and made up just to extort money from this young man or woman.

Having more than basic resources to feed, clothe, shelter and transport oneself, coupled with a good heart, can make any reasonable person willing to help others who may have a need which they can reasonably meet without much self-exertion.

But he that is already broke avoids problems at the first sight of them, because he doesn’t have.

Some who are not broke have even learnt to act broke to avoid too much ‘wahala’ (trouble).

The helpless seek help outside of themselves.

He that is already down is not worried about falling.

He is thinking about not being stepped on too much although he is already used to that. 

He has a different set of concerns.

He is bothered about making ends meet.

He wards off distractions more readily.

He has no unlimited resources to waste.

He has higher tolerance for injustice.

He defers more easily to relevant authorities.

He escalates more often, and seeks justice or redress appropriately without taking laws into his own hands, or reacting rashly.

Infact, God fights his battles and takes care of his enemies and oppressors, according to the Scriptures concerning the poor and oppressed. 

But the warrior with too much strength is looking for the next person to challenge or fight with.

Or in the least, he is not backing down from any challenge from anyone; he is equal to the task.

The one with too much money is looking for the next investment to make or the next trip to take.

His own worries are different. 

His options are many.

Depending on what he is into or what he loves, he is looking for how to get more of that for himself.

If anyone tries to mess with him, he can make the necessary calls and plans to deal with them. 

If anyone challenges him to a socioeconomic feat, he is up to it: he can throw his weight and cash around to solve individual or community problems, and by doing that (even if done anonymously, the word gets around) he is relatively exposed and may need some form of personal protection/security.

He is great but so are his problems.

He is free financially yet he is in bondage.

His chains are of a different kind.

Herein lies the weakness of strength.