Being Squishy While Being Strong

Have you ever heard the phrase, “glass cannon?” At face value this phrase appears to be very contradictory; after all, there is no way a high explosive can be contained within a glass casing. However, for a gamer, glass cannons are everywhere, and they are not to be underestimated. Most of the time you will find these characters in massive multiplayer games like World of Warcraft and Guild Wars, where various classes of fighters and spell casters are used, each of which are allowed to wear a certain sets of armor. Glass cannons are those avatars and characters that often wear cloth armor. They don’t look like much, but if given the chance they will completely decimate the battlefield. That is, until this are hit, then they just break like glass.

They may be powerful, but they definitely can not take a hit.

Another term is also used to describe these forces; they are known as “squishies.” Just like holding something that is soft and fragile, squishies need to be protected so that they can deal the damage or provide the healing needed to assist their team. If the defense fails to protect them, they will die, often being “one shoted” by a strong enemy that thinks nothing of squashing a squishy. If you choose to play as a glass cannon, remember that all that power come with a very high, and soft price.

As I was doing my daily Scripture reading today, I came across a passage of Scripture that reminded me of the squishies of the faith. Paul is speaking with the Corinthian church and wants to give them encouragement while they are going through internal hardships within their congregation. He bears his heart to them by showing them the mindset in which he came to them in the first place.

And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. ² For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. ³ I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. ⁴ My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, ⁵ so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.

1 Corinthians 2:1-5

Prison was a common abode for the great Apostle Paul.

Historians that lived close to the time of Paul describe the Apostle as being a short, frumpy looking man with terrible male pattern baldness and a slight limp. At face value, Paul was nothing special to look at, and he knew it. When he entered into a new region to spread the Gospel of Christ, he didn’t do so as a pompous and overbearing preacher. No, he came in as a “glass cannon,” bearing incredible power through his teaching, all while being very vulnerable and transparent. This man demonstrated a discipline that is possibly one of the most important “fruits” that any believer can bear, and that is humility.

To have humility is to allow yourself to be humiliated for a purpose greater than yourself. True humility is actually the source of being more powerful in Christ. Jesus speaks about how the “last shall be first” and “the weak shall be strong” many times throughout the Gospels. If the truth were to be told, it is the lowest of low that will ultimately inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. In other words, those who have given themselves fully to God and His ministry to the world will be those who inherit the greatest power. The Kingdom of God belongs to the squishies.

We can learn quite a bit from Paul in this passage. When dealing with people in this life we must first come to them as if we do not know anything apart from Christ crucified. We are not smarter than them and we are not better than them; we do not show superiority over this world. The Bible is clear that a humble heart will allow for those who are serving in the ministry to draw power from the Lord, because God cannot use those who think they are good enough to make an impact with their own power. God uses those who rely wholly on Him.

There is nothing wrong with being a squishy, because at the end of the day it is the squishies that will make the biggest impact. They can only do so when they are protected, and we know exactly who our Protector is. Allow for God to be your shield, and He will strengthen you to be the spiritual glass cannon you were made to be.