I am not as strong as I look!

     Yes, I like to flip 1,000 tires, pull fire trucks, pick up 300 lb rocks and press 200 lb logs over my head, but it is true I am not as strong as I look.  I hate to admit it, but it is sometimes strange to be me.  When you meet someone for the first time and all they have to say is "dude you are huge, are you a cage fighter or something?"  My reply is always the same, "Hah, are you kidding me.  My muscles are just for looks.  I wouldn't last a second in a cage match.  I would be tapping out as soon as the bell rang."  Yes, I am not as strong as I look and I am not afraid to admit it.  
     Have you ever been around someone who talked a big game but you couldn't help but be disappointed when their life didn't back up their talk?  People who over promise and under deliver drive me crazy.  People who readily admit their weaknesses are my kind of people.  
     I absolutely love what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12:6 "I don't want anyone to give me credit beyond what they can see in my life or hear in my message."  Paul was the kind of guy who would under promise and over deliver.  He was the exact opposite of what we see in most Christians.  Most Christians are constantly posturing, trying to spin their lives to look more spiritual and Godly than they really are.
     I had a young Christian recently say to me that he finds himself "jealous" as he hears other Christians describe their walk with God.  He wondered if I ever felt that way.  I told him that I could definitely relate to his feelings, but most the way most Christians describe their spiritual lives and the way they live their lives rarely add up.
     I strive to be like Paul.  Don't give me more credit than I deserve.   If you don't see Godly character coming out of my life, don't assume I have it.  I want to under promise and over deliver. Listen to what else Paul says, "So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses so that the power of Christ can work through me."  When we try to present ourselves as stronger than we really are we limit the power of Christ in our lives.    
     Talk about being counter-cultural.  Who readily admits their weaknesses.  We are taught to hide our weaknesses and display our strengths.  Have you ever been asked that silly job interview question, "What would you say are your greatest weaknesses?"  How do we respond?  "Well I tend to be a perfectionist and some people say that I work too hard."  WHAT?  We actually try to make our weaknesses sound like strengths.  
     Paul says "I take pleasure in my weaknesses,... For when I am weak, then I am strong."  That one is tough to swallow.  Who wants to be weak?  But Paul says that if we are willing to admit that we are not as strong as we pretend to be that we can have access to true strength that is only found in Christ.