27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.
I have recently seen this played out in my life.
When I was younger, I took great pride in being a good judge of character. I felt that I could meet people and know what they were really like. I couldn't be duped. I would get a gut feeling and I would just go with it. And most of the time I was right. I thought it was a special gift I had been given to be able to read people.
But here's the thing. Sometimes I was wrong, really wrong. Over time, I came to realize that judging people wasn't a talent. It was actually a sin. The Bible teaches us not to judge one another. Instead we are to love one another.
As I have met more and more people and have traveled around the world, I have come to believe that most people are inherently good. Most people want to make the world a better place, they want to be good neighbors, they want to be good parents. I still think I have the ability to judge people, but it's different now. I find that I can see good in almost everyone. I find myself trying to see them the way God sees them. I'm not saying I'm perfect at this. I still misjudge people and sometimes I still say things I should keep to myself. I'm still learning to be kinder in my thoughts and feelings.
I didn't realize that this was actually a fulfillment of the scripture above until last week. Last week I was given a new responsibility in Church. A part of this I had a blessing given to me. It was a beautiful blessing. In it, our bishop told me that I have a gift of the capacity to love the women in our ward (church group). I realized it was true. I truly do love these women, individually and as a group. I had never thought of it as a gift before, but because of this blessing I realized it is a gift. And I realized that it was actually the result of a character flaw being turned into a strength.
I have so many weaknesses. And reflecting on this experience has made me wonder what these weaknesses could become if I would humble myself and turn them over to God. Our potential is truly unlimited if we could just let go of our comfort zones and be willing to change.
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