Character Flaws

"Your nature is a hard thing to change; it takes time.  One of the extraordinary transferences that happen in your spiritual life is not that your character flaws go away but they start to work for you.  A negative become a positive: you've a big mouth; you end up a singer.  You're insecure; you end up a performer who needs applause."  -- Bono, "U2 By U2"

What are your character flaws?  What are those things about yourself that drive you absolutely crazy?  Perhaps you made a New Year's resolution to rid yourself of these things but, consider for a moment, that God might be able to use your weak points to accomplish great things.  St. Paul put it this ways in 1 Corinthians 1:27-28, "God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are."

As a gay man who is also a pastor, some people perceive that my being gay is a big handicap that prevents me from being an effective pastor.  Even when I first got into ministry I saw my sexuality as a flaw and wished there was some way I could have gotten rid of it.  Now, many years later, I realize that my being gay is my best gift for pastoral ministry.  I know what it feels like to be an "outsider" and so I welcome God's lost lambs with open arms.  I have a big soft spot for those whom traditional churches have rejected and I don't know if I would have this if I were straight.

So, what character flaw do you possess that drives you crazy?  Instead of trying to get rid of it, perhaps you and God can find a way to turn it into your greatest asset in 2012.