The strong and the weak

From the beginning, after my Christian ordination, I understood that reading was a prime responsibility. In being called to be pastor of a congregation, I took on the responsibility of being an ongoing student of theology, psychology, sociology, anthropology, and history. I purchased current books and checked books out of the local library. I subscribed to a variety of journals. My bookshelves are filled with my collected reading history. There was always another book to read.

Some books were not particularly memorable. Others became very important to me and my pastoral ministry. They were life changers. The Strong and the Weak by Paul Tournier was first published in the late 1940s against the background of World War II. The book was not translated into English for 15 years. I became aware of the book in the mid-1960s. I purchased the book. I both read and digested the book. My copy is filled with underlined passages.

Paul Tournier was a devout Christian Swiss psychotherapist. He was a lay student of theology and the Bible. Tournier put psychology, theology and Bible together in a manner that gave me valuable tools in the helping vocation of a pastor.

We are now in the midst of a presidential election. I look at the candidates, at what they do, and what they say. I work hard at reading people. This election cycle is a particular challenge at every level from local city council to presidential candidates. In trying to understand the candidates, I went back to my library shelves and pulled down Tournier’s volume, now almost 60 years after first publication. Tournier is still one of my most important instructors.

Most observers of humanity unconsciously divide people into two categories: the strong and the weak. This was certainly true of me. I saw strong people and I saw weak people. I encouraged strong people to take leadership and to be strength to others. I worked at giving help to people who struggled with their weaknesses.

Tournier, out of his experience as a psychotherapist and a lay theologian laid out a different scenario. We human beings are not to be divided into two categories. We all are very much alike. We all are a mixture of strengths and weaknesses. We all have significant strengths, but we also are all flawed. The real issue is what we do with our positive strengths and what we do with our flaws.

Tragically human beings have learned the skill of “cover-up.” Tournier’s book is filled with examples from his work as a psychotherapist. His conclusion is simple. “All men, in fact, are weak.” “They all have secret faults.” “They are all afraid of their inner weaknesses being discovered.” The facades of strength become a defining personality trait. They become habitual. The facades of strength frighten many. The person that has developed the façade of strength lives in constant fear of being ‘found out’ but does not dare admit the true dynamic of his/her personality.

A person’s strengths are also at risk. Confidence in one’s strengths can be encouraged or they can be intimidated and held in check. Primary culprits in this intimidation game are parents in their child-rearing practices and schools in their educational philosophy. The typical result is a quiet, non- productive person, who is an inhibited learner and a poor achiever.

There are variations of these two human responses. The hard reality is that there is a difference between appearances and reality. The search for honest assessment ideally needs to be initiated, but seldom is.

Unattended, the person dominated by their weaknesses allow themselves to be crushed because they believe in the strength of the apparently strong. The apparently strong crush the weak in order to assure themselves of their strength. Unchallenged, the “strong” go from success to success. On the surface everything seems so easy. They do not take notice of the price of tears and injustices inherent in their victories.

Tournier is not afraid of the word “sin.” However, he seldom uses the word and makes plain that he is not using it as a moralistic term. His first call for an antedote is for honesty. This he finds in Christian Faith. Weaknesses are to be shared and confessed among the faithful and to God. Strengths are to be disciplined and used in the service of God and fellow human beings.

I would argue that Tournier is advocating both honest psychology and high quality Christian theology.

Unfortunately American politics feature exaggerated facades of strength and the rumblings of resultant fears. Candidates indicate little or no understanding of the dynamics of religion. No one dares reveal their flaws and weaknesses. The “strong” incites fears in the “weak” and refuse to face their own weaknesses and resulting inward fears

Since first reading “The Strong and the Weak” over 60 years ago, I have looked at those who boast of their strength with considerable skepticism. A hard look by all is clearly justifiable.

The End

The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister, who lives in retirement in Palmer, Alaska. His email address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.