Judges 8:21
“Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise thou, and fall upon us: for as the man is, so is his strength. And Gideon arose, and slew Zebah and Zalmunna, and took away the ornaments that were on their camels’ necks.”
During the conquer of the Midianites, Gideon captured their princes and put them in prison until he finished the battle. After the battle, he returned to these princes with his son to kill them. In obedience to God’s command, he told his son, who was a youth, to draw his sword and kill them, but the son feared to do so because of his age. These princes mocked this young man and said, “…as the man is, so is his strength.”
These princes were saying that you are the person that you are. You are no different than the actions you do. You may be able to put on a facade in front of people, but your actions dictate who you are. Let me show you four areas where you are what you are.
First, you are physically what you are. Though the Scriptures do no spend much time in the area of physical wellness, they do address them. For instance, you are what you feed yourself. Your physical strength won’t be strong if you don’t eat a balanced and healthy diet. We wonder why people are out of shape when all they do is eat junk food and sit. You can’t expect your health to be strong if you don’t eat in such a manner that will cause you to be healthy. If you eat junk food, then your health will eventually be junk. If you eat healthy, then you will find you will have better health.
Furthermore, if you don’t physically exercise, then your body won’t have a good constitution. I am not for worshipping our body as we see many do today, but I am for staying physically fit so that you can better serve the LORD. It is shameful to preach and teach on character and not to have the character to stay physically fit.
Second, you are intellectually what you are. You will never strengthen your intellect if you are not constantly learning. Just because you are out of school doesn’t mean you should stop learning. Life should be a learning center. You should strengthen your intellect by reading books and studying the areas in which you are weak. Don’t let the world be intellectually stronger than you. I’m not saying you need to go to college, but I am saying that you would be wise to strengthen your intellect through reading and studying.
Third, you are morally what you are. Your moral strength is as good as your private life. Friend, God’s people should be moral at all times. You won’t be morally strong if you are looking at pictures and websites at which you shouldn’t be looking. Your morality will only be as strong as your private life.
Fourth, you are spiritually what you are. Just because you go to church three times a week doesn’t make you a strong Christian. Your strength as a Christian will only be determined by your walk with God. If the only time you spiritually feed yourself is at church, then you are spiritually weak. You can’t be a strong Christian unless you live the Christian life 24/7.
Let me ask you, how strong are you? Do you find yourself lacking in one of these areas? Always remember that a facade only lasts a short time. Eventually, the real you is going to be revealed. If you are weak in one of these areas and you don’t want people to see your weakness, then you should immediately start strengthening yourself in these areas. Two people know what you are: you and God; however, others will eventually find out who your are. Change what you are privately to be what you should be, then you won’t have a problem when they find out what you truly are.