Hiding From Pain 4.1
“Yahweh, Yahweh. Always pain before the child is born.
Yahweh, Yahweh. Tell me now, why the dark before the dawn?
Take this city, a city shining on a hill,
Take this city, if it be your will.
What no man can own,
No man can take,
Take this heart, take this heart.
And make it break.”
-Bono {1}
Perhaps the most difficult process of any human isn’t the soul-seeing discovery of his or her brokenness, but the confession that should accompany that discovery. That’s why after realizing one’s own weaknesses, the first step in Alcoholics Anonymous, or in a weight loss program for instance, is a public declaration of the problem.
But such acknowledgment of brokenness is adverse to the pedestal leadership patterns of our world. Certainly in the opinion of the prevailing culture of Jesus’ day, a leader who rises above the masses is not one who should suffer humiliation by wearing weakness. Likewise, in North America today, the job of a leader is perceived to be the bold recognition and proclamation of flaws in other human beings! A true leader, it is commonly held, shouldn’t be broken, let alone admit to it.
Our society resists the idea that a leader could be a broken person. Therefore it takes tremendous courage for a leader to be willing to have his or her brokenness exposed and addressed. As stated above (or below in the posts actually!), the formative process of spiritual leadership is far from being a comfortable one. It involves examination and probing into areas of our soul or experiences of our life that are painful to acknowledge.
Whether a person likes it or not, God looks at people and sees brokenness. He sees hearts that are ripped and in need of restoration. And in regards to a leader, as we learn in 1 Samuel 16:7, God looks for a contrite heart that is willing to receive his restorative attention. People look at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart… and he comes to us to repair and heal.
{1} Lyrics written by Bono and taken from the song "Yahweh" on the album How to Dismantle and Automic Bomb by U2 © 2005.