Weak Things

1 Corinthians 1:27 “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.”

He was far from the best speaker in my Public Speaking Class. Poor eye contact, monotone voice, nervous fidgeting. He worked hard, though, and by the end of the semester he had gained ground. The turning point came when he gave his persuasive speech, arguing against abortion. Although the class consisted of Bible college students, rather than using Scripture to support his points, he took a clear logical, fact-based approach. It turned out to be a solid speech.

I had actually forgotten about it. It had gotten lost in the mix of four other speech classes and well over a hundred speeches I had listened to in the last few weeks. That, however, was about to change….

The last day of class another student gave her final speech on what she had learned over the semester. She explained that she had always been personally opposed to abortion, but considered it to be a woman’s choice…until she heard her classmate’s speech. She said the most significant factor of the semester was the impact that one speech made on her. It had caused her to move from being “pro-choice” to “100% pro-life.” That doesn’t usually happen in speech classes. I was stunned.

I couldn’t help but be grateful my student didn’t let his marginal skills at public speaking deter him from addressing such a huge controversial issue. He somehow realized that the message was greater than the messenger. Because he went for it, despite his weakness, a life was changed. And who knows how many other lives?

How often do we sit on our gifts and abilities because they don’t measure up to those who are far more gifted? I often wish I could craft words like Max Lucado. I wish I could deliver truth with the dynamism of Beth Moore. I wish I could teach as skillfully as my friend Joanne Williams. Just because we feel we’re not as gifted as others, it doesn’t mean we have nothing to offer.

God made us all so differently. He positioned us uniquely. Yet he has given us the same call….to use all we have—little or much—for his glory.

Don’t fall into the comparison trap. Don’t be like the one who hid his talent because he lacked the ten or the five (Matthew 25:25). Don’t let anything keep you from being a “good and faithful servant” even if you are a weak thing.