I watched a mammoth twelve-foot alligator glide through my lake with attitude. I call it “My Lake,” but Mr. Gator would clearly disagree. This is his lake. He and his species exert power and control over these waters. Signs around the perimeter warn me to stay out or be eaten.
Unfortunately, “My Lake” is not the only thing I imagine to be mine. This is “my country,” “my church,” “my school,” and “my neighborhood.” And when I say they are mine, I don’t mean that I belong to them. They belong to me like the lake belongs to Mr. Gator. I am in charge. The problem is that if I want these things to remain mine, I will need to exert power and control. This is a competition that I dare not lose.
The Apostle Paul knew about competition, false teachers had invaded the church in Corinth and were claiming spiritual superiority. Paul refused to play their game even though he had outworked, out-suffered, out-loved, out-prayed, and out-obeyed any of them. Paul said he could boast about these things, but he wouldn’t. He wouldn’t because in the upside-down world of Christianity, none of these things mattered. Paul writes, “Therefore, 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 Corinthians 12:9-10)
A twelve-foot alligator is the top predator in the lake and that puts him in charge. But God has not called us to be the top predators in this world. Instead, Jesus tells us, “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves.” (Matthew 10:16) Humility and service are our super powers.