Accepting Your Weaknesses

Continuation of a talk from: Bo Sanchez










2) ACCEPT YOUR WEAKNESSES

What’s the difference between forgiving yourself and accepting your weakness?

Answer: We only forgive ourselves for our sin. We don’t forgive ourselves for being weak. Because being weak isn’t a sin. It’s part of being a human being.

Let me give you an analogy. I know of some parents who scold (note: scream) at their kids for being noisy and playful. At moments like these, I want to intervene and say, “Mother, listen to yourself. You’re actually angry at them for being kids?”

That’s what we do too to ourselves. Because we are our harshest critics.

If you want to love yourself, you need to celebrate who you are—your strengths and weaknesses combined. Especially your weaknesses!

* Fire Your Inner Parrot

Let me tell you a story.

On her way home, a woman was walking on the sidewalk. She saw a parrot in a pet shop window. Upon seeing her, the parrot said, “Lady, you are really ugly!”

Shocked, the woman walked away in a huff.

The next day, she walked again on the same road. She saw again the parrot peering through the pet shop window. And sure enough, when the parrot saw her, it said, “Lady, you are really ugly!”

The woman couldn’t take it anymore. She barged in the pet shop and told the owner, “Your bird outside has been telling me that I’m ugly. You better do something about that parrot. When I walk here tomorrow, and that bird says the same thing about me, I’ll sue you!” The owner was very apologetic and said, “It won’t happen again, Ma’am.”

The next day, she walked home on that same road. Once again, she sees the parrot, and the parrot sees her. She stopped and with an icy stare asked, “Yes?”

The bird, strutting back and forth, cocked, “You know.”

* You Don’t Have To Be Perfect To Love Yourself

Friends, many of us have an inner parrot that tells us, “You’re ugly.”

We have an inner parrot that we carry around within us, cruel and rude. We actually don’t need the devil anymore to accuse us and damn us to Hell. Because we do it ourselves.

These feelings of shame drive us to our addictions.

Friend, fire your inner parrot. (Better yet, fry him with olive oil, a little garlic, and chilli.)

Start telling yourself the truth: That you’re God’s child and beautiful beyond imagination. And that God will use even your worst weaknesses.

Remember: You don’t have to be perfect to be loved.

* Your Weakness Is A Gift

In the Bible, St. Paul boasted of his “Thorn in the Flesh”.

It was his weakness. Bible scholars don’t know what it was, but here are some intelligent guesses:

* temptation

* persecution

* sexual desires

* physical appearance

* epilepsy

* eyesight trouble

* chronic malaria fever

But whatever it was, about this weakness, he said these immortal, mind-boggling words. “At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me, “My grace is enough; it’s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness.”

* How can your weakness be gift?

Your Weakness Blesses You In 3 Great Ways

First, my weaknesses humble me. It makes me depend on God even more. And I see how He uses me mightily despite all my weaknesses! That is why the Bible says, God chooses what the world considers weak in order to shame the powerful.

Second, my weaknesses make me more merciful towards others. I believe that someone who easily judges others hasn’t yet accepted his own weaknesses. If he had, he wouldn’t be judgmental. But because he hasn’t, he projects his self-anger towards other people.

Third, my weaknesses bond me with others in a way that nothing else can. When I share the story of my past and my addiction to someone else, I disrobe my defences and become vulnerable to him. In this way, I also give permission to that person to disrobe his defences as well.

Friend, thank God for your weaknesses, your struggles, and your problems.

They are great gifts that will bless you and others.

My next post will discuss how to Feel your Feelings.