We all have weaknesses, things we don’t do well or things we can’t do at all. I can’t dunk a basketball. I’ve always wanted to be able to dunk a basketball. I still have a recurring dream that I am dunking a basketball (I really do). I used to have a love/hate relationship with Spud Webb. For those of you who are not familiar with the finer points of pro basketball history,

Spud Webb was one of the shortest basketball players to ever play the pro game. He was generously listed at 5 feet 7 inches tall. He played a good many seasons for the Atlanta Hawks, my home team, and actually won the NBA slam dunk contest in 1986. In fact, when he was in middle school at only 5 feet 3 inches, he could already dunk a basketball! I loved him because he was short and I am short, and he could dunk and play pro basketball. He stood up (so to speak) for all of us short guys. But I hated him because he proved that a short guy could actually dunk a basketball, and I could never dunk a basketball. He proved that it could be done, so he just highlighted my inability to dunk. I could never say that I was too short to dunk. I’m two inches taller than Spud Webb, and he could dunk, so there goes my excuse.

I have many other weaknesses, too many to list here, and most of them far less innocuous than the inability to dunk a basketball. We all have weaknesses. We have physical limitations—too short, too tall, not fast enough, not strong enough. We have intellectual limitations. Kim is not very good at math. We were trying to figure out table decorations for Virginia’s upcoming wedding (our daughter, Virginia, is getting married!) the other day. Kim told me that we need 28 of a certain item because there were going to be eight tables and we needed four per table. I had to inform her that we actually needed 32. And we both just laughed! We have emotional limitations. Oddly enough for a pastor, I’m not very strong emotionally. My EQ (Emotional Quotient) is low (for that matter, my IQ is not that high, either). That’s an area of weakness for me. I’m not very empathetic. I’m more task-oriented than I am people-oriented. Kim has to remind me about people’s emotional situation, if they are hurting or struggling. Sometimes those things just don’t register with me. But she remembers them and keeps up with them and asks about them.

Too many of us think that our weaknesses are limitations, and in some ways they are. I would be a better pastor if my EQ was higher. But interestingly, the Bible doesn’t view them that way. The Bible actually has the courage to say that our weaknesses are a strength. Jesus said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” In light of that, the Apostle Paul said, “I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor. 12: 8-10).

Did you catch what Paul said there? Don’t miss the impact of those words. He said that he will actually boast about his weaknesses, if it takes weakness for the power of Christ to be at work. Let’s don’t minimize those words; this is the Bible, after all. We are to actually boast about our weaknesses. Now I’m sure there is some hyperbole here. The Bible is never afraid of figures of speech. But the figure of speech is there for a reason. It intensifies the concept. So, we are to recognize our weaknesses to the point that we boast in them. Naturally, we boast in our strengths, our abilities, our accomplishments. But here, the Apostle Paul tells us to do just the opposite.

That’s hard to do. And we can err on either side. We can lean into bragging or name-dropping or one-upping. But we can also beat ourselves up. We can poor-mouth. We can downplay ourselves to the point that it is just as bad as bragging. But boasting in our weaknesses is simply an expression of appropriate humility. It is a way to put the needs of others before our own. It is really a form of repentance. When we boast in our weaknesses, we fight against our natural tendency toward self-focus and self-promotion. We repent of arrogance and pride and self-protection.

What does it mean to “boast” in our weaknesses? Well, I don’t think that it means that we intentionally do a poor job in our efforts at living life. I don’t think that it means that we are to be lazy or not take seriously our commitments. Boasting in our weaknesses means that we become comfortable with the limitations God has given us. Boasting in our weaknesses will keep failure from crushing us. Sin, failure, and inabilities should cause us to look expectantly to the strong arm of our Savior for our salvation and success, whether in ministry or in our home life or on the job. To boast in our weaknesses is to have Someone stronger let us off the hook, take care of us, have our back. That’s what the Apostle Paul said. He wanted to boast in his weaknesses so that “the power of Christ may rest upon” him. When we don’t boast in our weaknesses, we actually resist the power of Christ. You see, we can either have our strength or God’s strength. We can lean into our abilities or Jesus’ abilities. We can either live in our own power or we can live in the power of the Holy Spirit. But you can’t do both.

And to boast in our weaknesses should cause us to be both bold and humble, at the same time. We can be bold because we have the freedom to fail. We can take (what seem to be) risks, because success is on Someone else’s shoulders. That’s what it means to live by faith. But we can also be humble, because we can take credit for nothing. When we are successful, it is due to Someone else. It really is.

Live life in such a way that you have stories. Live life in such a way that you say, “Wow! God has really been at work. The only way I am where I am is through the power of God, because I am too selfish, too messed up, too fearful, too prone to petty bickering, too unable to make any of this happen myself.” To boast in your weaknesses means that your life hinges on the power of Jesus, and the wisdom of Jesus, and the love of Jesus.