Flawed and Transformed

Photo by Mark Stosberg on Unsplash

 

I only respect flawed people. I respect them even more if they know they are flawed. That goes for leaders and people in public life.

 

I generally like them and appreciate them across the board as long as they operate on the integrity of their convictions with consistency, intelligence, and the willingness to question their own views by listening and negotiating.

 

There are very few villains out there - maybe some, but I cannot judge motives. I am critical and respectful of leaders and suspicious of them. It is a healthy tension. I am also hard on and suspicious of myself. I just wish we were not all so quick to posture, agree with ourselves, and run to our own corners of the room, but, I guess that is just one of the flaws I have to accept as part of our humanity if I am going to embrace and love humanity.

 

You can try to figure out what I mean and what point I am making if you like, but it will be a guess, because I do not even know for sure.

 

Sometimes our flaws can be useful, when recognized and utilized.

 

Most often, they make us relatable and, when overcome, inspirational.

 

When push comes to shove, I know that I declared my ultimate loyalty 60 years ago when I joined the Kingdom of Love through faith in Jesus. It was then that I adopted the value system that calls me to love my neighbor -- especially the one that is most unlikely for me to love, most different than myself, and least likely to believe as I do.

 

And I do not think I can love him without respecting him, listening to him, seeking to understand him, and trying to like him.

 

Besides all of that, in spite of every flaw, no one can predict what amazing fruit may come from a bent and tangled tree or an instrument in the Master's hand.