Weakness refers to the temptation we can hardly resist or the temptation that makes us easily compromise our moral values and give in to sin. Weakness is common to all flesh, man or woman, saved or unsaved, Christians or unbelievers, rich or poor, young or old, clergy or laity.
The types of weaknesses are physical weakness, affecting the body’s strength and endurance, such as general fatigue or muscle weakness; mental weakness, relating to cognitive abilities, such as difficulty making decisions; emotional weakness, involving tendencies to be overwhelmed by feelings, such as being overly sensitive; professional weakness, such as poor time management, lack of confidence, poor delegation skills, poor self-organization; and moral weakness which, from a Christian perspective, refers to acting against Christian beliefs to do something you should not have done. Our study is going to focus on moral weaknesses.
Moral weakness is doing what is wrong due to a lack of willpower, self-control, or dominance of emotions and desires over reason. Many Bible heroes show moral weakness at certain points in their lives. This is because, though they knew what was right and could have acted accordingly, they failed to do so because they gave in to temptation or a momentary emotional impulse, rather than acting in line with their convictions.
We see many examples of moral weaknesses in the Bible: Noah was a drunkard. Moses had ‘anger-weakness’. In anger, he killed an Egyptian (Exodus 2:11-15), he also disobeyed God by striking the rock twice instead of speaking to it for water (Numbers 20:1-13), and he destroyed the tablets of stone at Mt Sinai. David could not control himself when he saw naked Bathsheba bathing, and he committed adultery with her. Abraham would tell a lie if he thought it would help him or save his life. At some points, Peter, out of timidity, would do what he must to avoid persecution or criticism.
Christians and unbelievers alike have moral weaknesses. These are a few of the moral weaknesses exhibited by Christians:
- Some Christians easily tell lies to cover up their shame, to avoid punishment, or to avoid criticism. (Proverbs 12:22)
- Some Christians easily get offended. They often get offended about trivial matters. (Proverbs 10:12; Matthew 18:15-17)
- Some Christians easily get angry and react rudely towards others. That is the weakness of a short temper. (Proverbs 14:17; Proverbs 19:11)
- Some Christians are shy to preach about Jesus, portray Christian virtues, etc. ( Romans 1:16-17; 2 Timothy 1:8; Luke 9:26 )
- Some Christians sit back and look on, for fear of criticism or disapproval of others; they do not initiate anything in the church, at home, or at the workplace to help solve problems. This is the weakness of passiveness.
- Sometimes, during arguments or disagreements, some Christians react hastily even before they think of the implications of their reaction. That is an exhibition of the weakness of impatience.
- Laziness in one’s Christian life goes to the extent of affecting one’s service to God and one’s attitude to work.
- Some Christians easily succumb to pride. They easily become proud because of their position, social status, financial status, educational background, etc.
As Christians, we must recognize our weaknesses and not allow them to become open doors for sin. Jesus warned His disciples, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41). This means that our first step in dealing with weakness is vigilance—being aware of where we are vulnerable—and constant prayer, asking God for strength to resist. We should also put practical safeguards in place to prevent our weaknesses from leading us into sin. For instance, if anger is our weakness, we must learn to be “slow to anger” (James 1:19-20) and seek peace rather than retaliation. Spiritual alertness and the guidance of God’s Word will help us avoid falling where we are most vulnerable.
Overcoming weakness also requires relying on God’s strength and not our own. Paul confessed his own struggles but declared, “I can do all this through Him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13). Where we are weak, God can strengthen us to stand for His grace is sufficient, and His power is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). Therefore, we must humbly submit our weaknesses to God through prayer so that He would use them as a means of growth. Second, we should cultivate self-discipline with the help of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Third, we should seek accountability from fellow believers. In this way, our weaknesses will no longer be stumbling blocks but opportunities for God’s power and glory to be revealed in our lives.
Lastly, let’s remember that it is wrong for a Christian to habitually submit to his weakness and sin – no one who is born of God will continue to sin (1 John 3:9). As Children of God, we have what it takes to resist our weaknesses because the Spirit of God in us can imbue us with power and boldness to overcome fear, timidity, being ashamed of Christ, laziness, and the likes. Next, He imbues us with self-control against quick temper, pride of life, overreaction, lust, and other emotional weaknesses. He also imbues us with self-discipline against weaknesses like gluttony, extravagance, rudeness, and all kinds of bad habits.