This is the one I really like: "To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some" (1 Corinthians 9:22). And the part I really like about it is that instead of confronting someone else's weakness with strength... we are to just hunker down with them. I've been Ranting a lot about how my strength can line up with your weakness--cover you, in a sense--but sometimes we just need someone to be there with us. To understand what we're going through instead of trying to fix it all the time. Sometimes people have to go through things in order to learn from them and grow. Some things are not for us to fix. Somestime, in order to really build that bond, we need to show them that we're right there with them. Not always, "I'm up here, so since you're down there... let me pull you up." That, even with the best of intentions, can come off pretty harshly. Pretty condescendingly. If you're already going through something--feeling weak, and not in the good "weak in the knees" way--the last thing you need sometimes is for someone to shine a spotlight on it, and be like, "Oh this is easy. All you have to do is this, this, and this." That can be embarrassing, and make you feel even more weak. Make you feel stupid about your weakness. That's harsh. And, again, I don't think that's always the reason someone wants to swoop in a fix the problem. But we need to be sensitive. If someone's weak... maybe not the best time to show off how strong you are. Like kicking someone when they're down. They're already down, man. So use some judgment. Sometimes a hand up when you're down is exactly what you need. But sometimes when you're down you just want to know that you're not alone. You just want to know that it's ok to be down. For a little while. I remember a preacher talking about this subject, more or less, and saying, "When you're in the valley I'll visit with you, but I'm not building my home there." One more memory verse, "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven... a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance" (Ecclesiastes 3:1 and 4). It's ok to be weak. That's not always a problem that somebody needs to fix. But while it's ok to get down, it's not ok to stay down. There's a time to weep, and then there's a time to laugh. There has to be balance. And that's where having someone with you can help. Because even in our weakness, we are stronger together. We don't have to prove anything to anybody, but we can draw strength from each other. I don't have to fix your problem. I can commiserate with you. And then, together, maybe we can rise up. Let the weakness, the sadness, whatever it is, run it's course, and then move forward. Together. I don't always have to haul you to your feet, or drag you along behind me. I can wait until you're ready, and then we can go together. If you're feeling weak, and all you see is someone with no weaknesses (which isn't true, but might seem that way), that might do more harm than good. But if you can see that we're in this together... that's when things really work out.

A weakness isn't the worst thing in the world. It can be an opportunity to let someone else into your life. I Rant a lot about how things work out better when we work together, right? How we're all in this together. How we can't do it alone. Well, if we try to hide our weaknesses, or pretend they don't exist, then we'll always just try to do everything on our own. I quoted that memory verse where Jesus said His strength is made perfect in weakness the other day. But His strength is found... in us. I'll keep using my math weakness as an example. I can try to do math myself, but it won't go well. Trust me. Or I can ask for help. And, in asking, I can make a connection with the person who is helping me. We can bond over the experience. My weakness can make US stronger. And, really, that's what this life is all about. Relationship. Connection. If I can do it all myself, then what's the point of interacting with anybody? But a lot of people feel that way. Or they feel like it's shameful to have, and show, weakness. So it's like both sides of a coin--either we feel like we're too good to ask for help, or we feel like we're not good enough to ask for help. And either way, we don't get the help we need. Guys, we have to get rid of the stygma that comes with showing weakness or asking for help. We all need help. Period. None of us can do it by ourselves. It is not good that man should be alone. We need each other. Because of our strengths AND our weaknesses. You need my strength, right? And I need to give you my strength. It is such a good feeling when you can help somebody. Truly. When we see a need and can meet that need. It's almost like that's what we were made for (because, you know, that IS what we were made for!). We were created to be loved and to love each other. Not in spite of our differences but because of them. Not in spite of our weaknesses, but because of them. We need to start celebrating each other instead of trying to crush each other into the shapes that we think they should be in. It's not our goal to stamp out weakness. No matter how hard my math teachers tried... I just didn't get it. Numbers don't make sense to me. And then when you put letters in there too? Sheesh. I know that about myself. I accept that about myself. I'm not trying to be someone I'm not. But if I try to hide that weakness, if I get into a situation where I need to really do some math... it's over for me. So I try to make sure I don't get myself into that situation. If it's math related, I'm getting help. Period. I know my strengths, and I know my weaknesses. I'm not trying to be someone I'm not. I'm not trying to get in over my head. I'll ask for help. I think that's wisdom, not weakness. The weakness is in denying our weaknesses. Or trying to hide them. Pretend they don't exist. Pretend we can do it all on our own. We need to embrace ourselves for who we are. And embrace each other for who they are. If my strength fits into your weakness... that's one way we can connect with each other. That's one way that we can build, and strengthen our relationship. But only if we let that bond form. Only if we stop trying to pretend like we don't have any weaknesses!

So let's be real: Everybody has weaknesses. Mine are social interactions and math. Off the top of my head. But the point is, nobody's perfect in the Mr. Perfect never make any mistakes sense. Even God Himself has a weakness. Don't believe me? Check out 1 Corinthians 1:25, "Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men." Now a few verses before that one, 1 Corinthians 1:18 tells us about the foolishness. "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God." A sacrificial love seems foolish to those that are stuck in the selfish attitude of "me, me, me." But God's foolishness--laying His life down... giving His life for us and to us--is wiser than anything we could ever come up with. Which, really, tells us what the weakness of God is. The weakness of God is stronger than man... because the weakness of God IS man! We are His weakness. Remember yesterday I mentioned about how that special person can make you go weak in the knees? That's what happens to God when He looks at us. We are the apple of His eye. We are His favorite. The God who IS love wanted so badly to express His love that He created... us. So that He might have something to express Himself to. So that He might be able to share Himself with someone. With us. And think about it: Every time Jesus was confronted with someone who needed something from Him... He gave them all He had. When He wanted to get away and be by Himself (with His Father) and pray, but someone had a need... He always put other people first. Always. We are God's weakness. And that's not a bad thing. I have to admit that I feel the same way about my son. About my family. There is nothing I wouldn't do for them. Everything I do, I do for them. But here's the trick. Here's the rub. Here's the key. God's strength is made perfect in weakness, right? When I'm doing things for my family--my weakness--that's when I'm strongest. That's when I'm flowing in my purpose and my destiny. I've heard it said many times, "If you want to change the world, go home and love your family." Charity starts at home. So what I'm saying is, it's ok to be weak. Because in that weakness we find the strength of God. Which, by the way, of course, is love. The strength of God is the love of God. Our love can make us weak in the knees, but it also makes us strong enough to stand. So don't think of weakness always as something negative, or something to be hidden. It's ok to have weaknesses. And I say that knowing that we will have them whether it's "ok" or not. What I'm saying is: there's an aspect of self-improvement that's good. Practice makes perfect and all that. But we need to start embracing who we are. I'm never going to be a mathmatician. And I'm ok with that. That's for other people. When I need help with math... I'm not afraid to ask for it. I usually ask my kid, because he IS a numbers man. But we need to stop getting down on ourselves for the stuff we can't do, and we need to start doing the stuff we can do to the best of our abilities. Heartily--to the best of our abilities and because it is in our hearts to do it!

This is kind of a tricky subject. Because we've been taught--especially as the male half of the population--that weakness is a problem. That weakness is not ok. That we're not allowed to be weak. We have to be strong. We have to be self-sufficient. But it turns out that this mindset is not exactly Biblical. That this mindset is really pretty toxic. Because we can't do it all alone. It's not good that man should be alone, right? I can't do everything. I'm strong in some areas, yes. But I'm also weak in some areas. There are things I'm good at, and there are things I'm not. But--and I think this is going to be the thrust of this Rant series--it goes even deeper than that. Have you ever heard the expression "weak in the knees"? As in, "When he looked at her she made him weak in the knees." He felt so strongly for her that it made him weak. It made him vulnerable. He let his guard down. Let his walls come crumbling down. And that's not a bad thing. That's a good thing. That's a great thing! Being able to connect with someone on that level, man, that's what it's all about. Sometimes being weak is the best thing in the world. So we have to change our mindset about it. Look at 1 Corinthians 2:3, "And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling." We need to stop judging weakness, and just be there with people. Be there FOR people. Because, let's be real, no matter what aspect of weakness we're talking about... when we're weak, we need someone with us to be strong. And, I mean, bottom line, end of the day, we have Jesus. Paul wrote, "And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me" (2 Corinthians 12:9). When we are weak... that gives God room to be strong. When we think we can do it all ourselves, I believe God will let us do what we're of a mind to do. For the most part. I think sometimes He will go to great lengths (see Jonah and the fish) to help us do the right thing. But I don't think God really enjoys forcing His will on people. Love does not demand its (HIS) own way. If we think we can do it ourselves, I think God will let us try. But that's foolish. Foolhardy. We should never be so puffed up with pride that we don't think we need God (LOVE) in our lives. Everyday in every way. What situation is made better by a lack of love? What situation is improved by leaving love out of it? And, listen, if we know we can't do it ourselves... that's not "weakness" as much as it is wisdom. Asking for help when you need it is the smartest, and bravest, thing that you can do. The end of 1 Corinthians 8:1 says, "...Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth." When we think we know it all, we're really just puffing ourselves up and setting ourselves up for a fall. But when we let love reign we edify ourselves and each other. When we let people in, we can make anything happen. I might not be good at it. But you might be great at it. So together... we got this. And, by letting you in--by asking for help when I need it--you just might make me weak in the knees. You might be just what I've been looking for. And that's not a bad thing. That's a great thing!

God is love and He loves you. That's the long and the short of it. It's that simple, and it's that vast. When you know the love of God--with a knowledge that passes knowledge--you can truly live. Because to live is to love and to love is to live. You can't have one without the other and you can't do one without the other. They aren't just connected, they are the same thing. Let me say it like this: No love, no life. KNOW love, KNOW life! Knowing it all isn't about being able to prove people wrong. If your goal is to be right at someone else's expense... that's the opposite of love. Love doesn't tear people down. Love builds people up. Love is never about getting. Because love IS giving. You can give without loving, but you can't love without giving. So there's a big difference between knowing it all--the ultimate truth of the universe that God is love and He loves you--and being a know it all and trying to prove how smart you are all the time. Proverbs 17:28 says, "Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding." Sometimes you say it best when you say nothing at all. Sometimes a kind word is better than the last word. Even if you're "right," you don't have to prove it. You don't have to argue about it. You can let people think what they want to think. You can let people be who they are. It's not your job to change people. But that's what know it alls want to do. They want to convince you that they are right and you are wrong. They want to convince you that they know more than you do. That they're up here and you're down there somewhere. That's not love. Love doesn't demand its (HIS) own way. Love lets people be who they are and loves them anyway. Sometimes from a distance. Yes. Because no matter how hard you try, sometimes you just don't fit with certain people. And that's ok. I'm not for everybody. I know that. I accept it. And I just shrug my shoulders and get in where I fit in. Be where you're celebrated, not where you're tolerated. Know your tribe, if I can say it that way. Know where you belong. Do what you can do. Connect with those people that you can connect with. And, listen, that doesn't mean you have to get your own way all the time. There are a couple of guys at work that I decided to get along with. Decided to. And both of these dudes like to talk about music. Extensively. I like music. Good to go, right? Well, kind of. Because our musical tastes couldn't be further apart. But I just let them ramble on about how excited they are for so and so's new album. Even though I have no desire to even listen to one song off that album. It makes them happy, and they want to share about it, so... ok. I know enough to know that it's not all about me. Love is giving. Not getting. We've already gotten everything we need because God loves us enough to have given it to us. So we have what we need, and we can give what we have. Receiving and releasing the gift we've been given. If we know what we've got... what we can give... then we know it all. Because what we've got, what we can give... is love!

If we know love, we know it all. That's as simple as I can make it. 1 Corinthians 2:2, "For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified." That's the sum total of what's important. God and people. Loving God and loving people. Loving God BY loving people. Because whatever we do unto the least of them we do unto Him. That's how this thing--this life--works. God loves us and we love Him back by loving each other. We receive and release His love. We receive it BY releasing it. We release it by receiving it. By filling ourselves up to overflowing with what God has filled us with. By letting what's already inside come out instead of trying to get something we think we haven't got. When you know what you've got you can experience and enjoy what you've got by giving it away. By sharing it. But here's what I want to focus on today: I determined not to know anything but Chirst. I made a decision that out of all the things in the world... only one thing matters. I chose--and continually choose--to set my affection on things above and not on things on the earth. There are a lot of things that can, will, and do vie for our attention. There are a lot of people out there who would rather be "right" than be kind. I'd rather have a kind word than the last word. Because people don't always need to be told how wrong they are--even if they are wrong. Sometimes they just need someone to be kind to them. It's better to know it all--that God is love and He loves you--than to be a know it all. If your goal is to be right all the time, and to show people that they are wrong all the time, then quite frankly you need a better goal. Even as a pastor I've never been one to try to push my beliefs on someone else. One of the reasons I started my own ministry was because it didn't fit into a traditional church setting and I didn't want to argue about it. I'm content to let people believe what they want to believe. I'm not worried about what you believe. I don't need you to agree with me. I think I have something to offer, which is why I Rant and write books and do videos, but if it's not for you then it's not for you. No big deal. I don't think I'm right and you're wrong, necessarily. And I can fellowship with you either way. Because the one thing I DO know, for absolute certain, is that God is love and He loves you. I determine not to know anything else. If it doesn't fit in the paradigm of "God is love and He loves you" then I'm better off not knowing it. I don't want to know it. If it doesn't fit into the ultimate truth of the universe than it doesn't have any place in my life. If it isn't the truth, logically, it's a lie. And when you know the truth, you can ignore the lie. Knowing it all isn't about being able to prove other people wrong. It is about knowing what this life is for. Knowing that only through love can we truly live. Because to live is to love and to love is to live. Life is for living. Life is for loving. That's what I know. And that's the only thing worth knowing. Worth sharing. If you know it, throw it. Don't knock people down. Love the hell out of them and build them up!

With an unction from the Holy Spirit, we know all things. That unction is the still, small voice deep inside us that says, "I love you, I love you, I love you," with every beat of God's heart in our chest. And it's that knowledge--that passes knowledge... heart knowledge, not head knowledge--that equips and empowers us to live our best life. Because if you're spending (wasting) all your time, talent, and treasure trying to get love... when you already have love... then you're wasting the gift you've been given. When you're always chasing the carrot but only ever getting the stick, that's like banging your head against the wall and only ever getting a headache. Trying to earn something that can't be earned--because you think you know it all, and you think eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil is the right way to go about being good and not being evil--is the best way to squander what you've already got. Trying to be someone you're not is the best way to waste who you already are. Who you have always been. And that's one of the things we KNOW when we know it all. When we know who God is--God is love and He loves you--that's when we can begin to truly live. Because to live is to love and to love is to live. They aren't just connected. They are the same thing. You can't do one without the other and you can't have one without the other. But when you know it all--that God is love and He loves you--that's when you can begin to explore that love. To comprehend with all the saints the height, and depth, and breadth, and length of his love. By loving people bigger and harder than you ever thought you could. By laying your life down for your friends, just as Jesus laid down His life for us. When we know the sacrifice that was made FOR us, that's when we can make that sacrifice for EACH OTHER. When we know that we are loved--that we have the love of God inside us--we can give what we've got instead of always trying to get something. And that's such a more excellent way to live. It truly is more blessed to give than to receive. To be selfless instead of selfish. And I'm telling you, if you can see past yourself to the place where you can see a need in someone else and meet that need... that's what life is all about. It's not all about you. We're all in this together. We need each other. We can--and should--help each other. Knowing it all means knowing that New Commandment: To love one another as Jesus loves us. To know that we are loved, and that we can love. To know what's inside of us so that we can watch it come out. Naturally. So that we can fill ourselves to overflowing with what we've already been filled with. That's the key: Knowing what to do with what we have. Using what we have. Taking care of people. Connecting with people. Living with people. Loving people! Love is the most important subject there is. When we know about love--when we know that we are loved--we can love. And that means we can live. And that's the whole point of the whole thing. Living and loving. Knowing what's important and focusing on that. Knowing it all by knowing about love!

You don't have to be a know it all in order to know it all. We have an unction from the Holy Spirit and we DO know all things. The ultimate truth of the universe: God is love and He loves you. Look at Ephesians 3:19, "And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with the fulness of God." That's the key--knowledge which passes knowledge. Not just head knowledge, but heart knowledge. Not just knowing something... but KNOWING it. In a real, true, experiential way. A man with an experience is never at the mercy of a man with an argument. Because no matter what you THINK... if I KNOW what I know then that's a whole different level. I like the idea of "Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so." I think if we read the Bible and get anything other than "Jesus loves me" out of it then we've really gotten lost somewhere. But the love of God is so much more than words on a page. It's so much more, even, than a feeling. Because love is a decision. When you don't feel happy, or when you don't feel worthy of love. When you don't feel good about things. God has decided to love you. No matter what. He moved into us--took up His dwelling place and His abode--and He's never moving out. He's right where He wants to be. Where He's CHOSEN to be. That's why (and how) we can know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that He loves us. He shows us every day in every way. And that's why it's so important to know what we know instead of trying to go around and be a know it all and prove other people wrong. I've never been in an argument where, when it was over, one person had completely come to the other person's side. My experience with arguing is that people just dig in deeper to their own positions. It becomes more important to defend what they think than to even hear what the other person is saying. People don't always listen to hear. Sometimes they just wait for their turn to talk. That's no good. That's not productive. But when you think you have it all figured out, you don't really have an inclination to let anything else in. Closed-minded. That's why I always Rant about keeping your heart by keeping it OPEN. Not closing it down in order to "guard" it. Keeping it open to love. Letting love flow into, and out of, it. When we know--with that heart knowledge that passes head knowledge--that God is love and He loves you, that's when we can love others with that same love. Because you can't give what you don't have. And you can only give what you do have. But you have to know what you have. Otherwise you'll spend (waste) your Three T's--Time, Talent, Treasure--trying to get something you think you don't have. Trying to be someone you're not. We know everything we need to know when we know (one more time) that God is love and He loves us. Love is what it's all about. Love is the only thing that matters. God and people. Loving God and loving people. Loving God BY loving people. When we know that, we can enjoy this gift of abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life that we've been given. Enjoy it... by giving it away! By sharing it. Because we know that love is giving!

There's a difference between being a "know it all" and wanting to know it all. Being a "know it all" is having an attitude of "you can't teach me anything. I don't need any help." Wanting to know it all is a search for truth. One is going to get you into a lot of trouble. The other, I think, is a noble pursuit. Having said that, let me say this: "But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things" (1 John 2:20). That's key. Because that unction from the Holy One is that still, small voice deep inside us that says, "I love you," with every beat of God's heart in our chest. That's the whole point. The whole deal. God's love for us, in us, and through us, and as us. That's the sum total of the whole thing. God loving us and us loving God back by loving each other. That's what we know--on the deepest level--and that's what we need to know. Now watch this: "And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know" (1 Corinthians 8:2). It is when we think we have it all figured out that we get into trouble. Like old Rowdy Roddy Piper used to say, "Just when you think you have all the answers... I change the questions!" When we think we have it all figured out, that's when we stop looking. Stop seeing. That's when we close ourselves down to what is available. We settle for things. "Whelp. This is as good as it gets." We stop exploring. We stop testing the height, and length, and depth, and breadth of God's love for us. Because we reach a place where we're "comfortable." Or, perhaps, comfortably numb. We think what we've got is all we'll ever be able to have. When, in truth, what we've got is all we'll ever need! We have been blessed with all Spiritual blessings in the heavenly Christ. We've been given all things that pertain to life and godliness. Everything we need is already in us. That's what we need to know. And that's ALL that we need to know. I don't understand everything that happens in my life. I'm pretty empathetic. I can usually see all the sides of a story or situation. But I don't always see the big picture. I'm working on always looking for it. I'd rather try to know it all, and let what I know be enough, than be an know it all and think I've got it all figured out. One more memory verse for tonight, and this is kind of the one I based my ministry on when I started Word Without Walls. "For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified" (1 Corinthians 2:2). If I know Jesus... than I know what I need to know. Because God is love. Jesus is God in the flesh, love in a body. God in OUR flesh. Love in OUR body. You can't give what you don't have. And you can only give what you do have. So if you know anything... you need to know what you've got. Who you are. So you can give what you've got. So you can be who you are. And, listen, realistically it's a never-ending life long journey into the heart of the matter. We know it all, but we are continually learning how to understand what we know. A journey into the heart of the matter is a journey into the heart. God's heart beating with love in our chest. That's what it's all about. That's what we know, deep down, and that's all we really need to know!

I read a book the other day, and more or less it was about how it's ok--good, noble even--to defend yourself or others, but it unacceptable to attack people. I agree with that. I'm more than willing to stay on my side of the line. Live and let live. Let people be who they are and do what they do. Until and unless they cross that line. As Jack Reacher says, "If you mess with me you get what you get." And I've extended that to, "If you mess with me or my family, you get what you get." That's my boundary. I'm not interested in, or worried about, how you choose to live your life. And if you want my input, or help, or advice, or whatever... ask for it. I'll give it to you. But, as a pastor I knew was fond of saying, "Unasked for advice is unwanted advice." I'm not going to push what I think, or what I believe, on anybody. I get close enough to doing that with my Rants, and books, and videos. My ministry. But I don't go out of the way to advertise my ministry either. A lot of people in my life don't even know that I'm a pastor. I'm ok with that. Because I don't feel like it's my mission in life to change people. I can't change anybody. Only the Holy Spirit can do that. And even the Holy Spirit "changes" people by revealing to them who they really are. By revealing to them who GOD (LOVE) really is. In them, and through them, and as them. Love is all-powerful, right? Which doesn't mean MOST powerful. It means love has--love IS--all of the power. But we don't use that power to attack people. Ever. Even when Jesus turned over the tables and kicked the money changers out of the temple, He was defending (vigorously, I grant you) His Father's house. He didn't go around attacking people or their way of life. He defended the woman caught in adultery, and forgave her. He wasn't ok with what she was doing, but He didn't condemn it either. He told her (and empowered her) to go out and sin no more. Because when you know better, you can do better. When you know you are loved (by God), you can love. You can love God back by loving people. But love doesn't demand its (HIS) own way. Love doesn't make people jump through hoops. Love is giving. Not getting. So if someone is attacking you in order to get their own way, no matter how they try to spin it... that's not love. Love defends. Yes. But love does NOT attack. That's why we need to be careful to not ever be on a sin hunt. But instead to be on a righteousness hunt. Not telling people what's wrong with them, but telling people what's right with them. Filling them up with what we've been filled up with. Giving them what we've got by knowing what we've got and believing that we've got it. Matthew 5:44 says, "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." Don't retaliate. Don't stoop to their level. But don't let them steam roll you either. You can pray for people from a distance. You don't ever have to put--or keep--yourself in a bad situation. Know your limits. Know what you can take, what you can handle. And put up boundaries. Don't attack, but don't be afraid to defend either. Loving someone doesn't mean you have to let them abuse you.