When My Strengths are My Weaknesses

It’s no secret to my friends that I like to keep a clean house. It’s kind of who I have always been. Even as a child I tried to keep my bedroom clean and organized. Most would say it is one of my strengths. However, I have found it can also be one of my weaknesses.

How? During Memorial Day weekend we had guests coming to stay for two nights. Besides providing meals, I also decided we should have a cookout on Monday and invite additional guests. My “Game Plan” was typed (literally) and ready to tick off by the Wednesday before with all the things I needed to do to get ready. With all the cooking and cleaning, this was necessary (for my type A personality).

However, come Saturday while in the homestretch of finishing my tasks, I was not a pleasant person. My house was pretty much clean, but I was finishing up some cooking and still had last minute things to do…plus, when people are coming over like this, I think the house has to be “perfect.”

“Perfect” = no speck of dust or stray hairs on the wood floors, all the chairs evenly spaced around the table, the throw pillows plumped and chopped on the sofas…basically, everything looks Southern Living magazine-worthy or at least like I’m about to have potential house buyers over

Before the weekend was over, I was apologizing to Wade, my husband, for my impatient and hateful attitude. So see, what may be a strength to some – trying to keep an immaculate house – can become a weakness for me when I let it overtake my sensibility. Because I feel I can’t have anyone over unless my house looks “perfect” means I am probably not being as hospitable as I should as a Christian also.

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Other strengths and the weaknesses they could exhibit:
Disciplined – demand a lot of others
Strives for success – becomes a workaholic
Independent – has a hard time working with others
Patient or laid back – things don’t get done in a timely manner
Enthusiastic – come on too strong or obnoxious
Sensitive and considerate of others – become a slave to pleasing others

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I daresay most of us know our personal strengths and weaknesses. Like me, you may have seen how your strengths can emerge into a weakness. It is important to understand this, because it could lead to sin like it has for me, and then you find yourself apologizing to someone.

The Bible has a thing or two to say about strengths and weaknesses in the believer’s life. As Christians, we know our strengths come from the Lord as “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above” (James 1:17). Our weaknesses are opportunities to rely on the Lord more.

Paul talks about it in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”

Most people think their weaknesses are a roadblock to being useful. Some even use it as an excuse. However, Paul learned if we trust Christ, then through His power of helping us, He can transform that weakness into a strength.

A lot of us get caught up into these personality tests (Psst – I am an Enneagram 1w2), but while they may help us to understand ourselves, we should NOT use them as excuses to respond or act a certain way. “Well, I’m just a perfectionist, so they are just going to have deal with me until I get it right…” Which can also lead to the “It’s just the way God made me.”

While God “fearfully and wonderfully made” each of us (Psalm 139:14), He did not intend for us to live in our weaknesses/strengths as excuses to not be like Christ. There are commands in the Bible that as believers we are to follow no matter if we are introverts, extroverts, or whatever. When we become a child of God, we are new creatures (2 Corinthians 5:17), and with the help of the Holy Spirit, we follow in His steps (1 Peter 2:21) and put on “the new man” (Ephesians 4:22-24).

Let us identify our strengths and weaknesses. Let us make sure they are not keeping us from being the Christian we are called to be. And let us always give God the glory for the strengths He has given us the what He is teaching us through our weaknesses. 💕