HS #107 2024.6.13
Greatness and Vulnerability
In today’s column I discuss one of the most profoundly true sayings I have ever known. I don’t remember where I heard it, but it has stayed with me for decades.
A man is as great as his noblest ambition, as weak as his controlling desire.
I use the sexist language because i) that’s the way I heard it, ii) it packs a bigger punch, iii) I suspect (but don’t know) that it may apply more to men than to women. I will be talking primarily about men.
First, a mathematical explanation. Consider a beam with dimensions of 12 feet by 10 inches by ½ inch which is being used to support a 12-foot deck or bridge. As I explain to my calculus classes, the strength of the board is proportional to its width and proportional to the square of its height. Mathematically, strength = width x height x height. Thus the height is more important. Suppose the board is “flat” so that its width is 10 inch and height is ½ inch, enabling it to hold 100 pounds. Then if it is turned so that the height is 10 inches and the width is ½ inch, it could support a ton – 2000 pounds! Try the experiment with a ruler or yardstick. Held flat, a small force will bend or crack it. But turned so that it has a greater height, and it is rigid and unbreakable.
Thus the same object is strong or weak depending on its position – on the situation.
True also with people.
Countless people come to mind – both those I know personally, and the famous and well known. I’m guessing for you too.
One such person is Bill Cosby. I’m confident that he had a genuine, heartfelt passion for helping African American young men live better lives. He talked to them and about them regularly. “The Cosby Show”, I’m guessing, was one way he hoped of modelling good living. However, he also had a passion for sex – unrequited sex in particular – and this was, of course, his downfall.
General Petraeus, Elliot Spitzer, Governor Cuomo, President Clinton all come to mind. The Me-Too movement caught many of them. Many others could have been caught – JFK, FDR, MLK Jr. Many of these had noble ambitions. Truly. Nothing insincere or hypocritical about them. They weren’t pretending to be good. But, turn the board over and what is strong becomes vulnerable. Noble ambitions, controlling desires.
One of my Biblical heroes, King David from the Old Testament, had no trouble defeating the massive Philistine warrior, Goliath. He easily routed his enemies and stayed true of intention when challenged by his associates (King Saul). He was fearless and pure.
But, dang it, as he got older – perhaps as he hit 50 – he got soft. His self-discipline sagged. The temptations and weaknesses which he controlled as a fighting youth were exposed. And he blew it – big time.
If Nathan the prophet had come to David accusing him of breaking the 6th and 7th commandments (murder and adultery), David would have likely yawned. But Nathan hit David’s soft spot. Hearing Nathan describe a rich man who killed a poor man’s one beloved lamb for dinner rather than take from his own flock, the former shepherd boy exclaimed in anger, “That man shall surely die!” In a scene similar to the climax of “A Few Good Men”, Nathan counters, “Thou art the man!” The heart-rending 51st Psalm is the result.
Yes indeed, we get soft as we age. The disciple John (I John 2: 16-17) lists i) the lust of the eyes, ii) the lust of the flesh, iii) the pride of life as temptations that mess us up. Indeed, sex, money, pride – not to mention drugs, alcohol, and other traps ensnare. Like David, they often hit in middle age when we get comfortable and lose our edge and our focus.
What can be done?
Don’t be quick to judge. The point of the quote is that BOTH are true parts of the same person – the greatness and the weakness. And whether a person gets snared is often due to circumstances. Luck. One reason I appreciate helping those in prison is that I realize many there are like the rest of us – except they got caught.
Realize we all have our own weak spots, our own vulnerabilities. To think that one is immune because his is different from others is setting oneself for failure. Be on guard.
