Giving help or Lending strength

Giving Help or Lending strength

Every one of us needs help—help from friends, help from spouses, help from our children, help from the Creator. In fact we will always need help. But we know that a time comes when for a child or even an adult ‘giving help’ is not quite really ‘giving help’. At that time it is actually lending strength. Strength is lent when the person or group being given the assistance should have been able to accomplish the task themselves.

Stephen Covey wrote powerfully: ‘Borrowing strength builds weakness’. I have found that simple statement to be highly profound and a valid principle. Whenever we borrow strength, we build weakness! We can borrow strength from:

•  Position
•  Greater physical size
•  Financial muscle
•  Deceit
•  Drugs
•  A loan
•  Sex
•  Charisma

Borrowing strength from any of the above short circuits a proper natural process of developing strength. It is like cheating in an exam! You are deceiving yourself essentially.

When we borrow strength, this strength sees us through for the moment, in the short-term, but equips us for defeat in future. Some just keep borrowing strength. They refuse to build strength. Such people will necessarily fall when circumstances test their strength.

Good news, however, is that when you fall you can always start to build strength.

You can add other ‘things’ we can borrow strength from.