FOIBLE

 

At Christmas I was given one of those daily-word calendars. So far it is one of those gifts which is still being used two-hundred-twenty-one days later. Some of the words are familiar – others, not so much. Each one (familiar or not) has an interesting story behind it. Take, for example, the one which drives me to my keyboard today. 

FOIBLE 

Both Judy and I come from backgrounds where this word was familiar. However, I’m not so sure that’s the case with folks from the last couple generations. In general use, foible was snatched from French, and it is used to describe a minor weakness or eccentricity in someone’s character.

He has most of the foibles you find in someone who fishes for compliments.

What captured our attention, however, was the discovery that this word comes from the French as the name of the weakest part of a sword – that part from the middle of the blade to the point.

In order to understand this better, I went to YouTube and picked up this information from the "Blood and Iron" site.

1.     The part of the blade closest to the hilt (handle) is rigid and sturdy.

2.     The farther you go from the hilt toward the point of the sword, the weaker the blade becomes.

3.     Close to the sword's point an opponent can more easily bend the blade away and slide his own weapon into a position of strength.  

4.     This feature creates a wide array of offensive and defensive strategies but it becomes an awkward weapon when the contestants are close to each other.

 

And… So…

 

    It is, of course, reasonably predictable that the Christian ear hears the word, “sword,” and thinks of the “sword of the Spirit…the Word of God” (Ephesians 6:17). In that reference the “sword,”refers to a short sword or dagger. It is the word-of-choice for most references to swords in the New Testament.

    The obvious implication of this information is that the Word of God corresponds to the rest of the “Christian’s armor.” It is designed for close up, hand-to-hand combat with the strongest part of our weapon at our command. It is important here to remember that the Ephesian passage is not speaking primarily of evangelism. It is counseling us with regard to our resistance to the not-flesh-and-blood foes of our lives (Ephesians 6:12). Foes which attack our minds, hearts, and souls. For the purpose of these brief thoughts, I recommend that closeness to the hilt is comparable to using the precise statements of Scripture as the basis for our counter-attacks against the strategies of the enemy. The farther we venture out onto the “foible” of it-seems-to-me, the more opportunity we give our foes to draw blood.

    I am posting this thought on a Wednesday. This is the traditional “prayer meeting” day for many of us. Let’s take a moment tonight to remind ourselves of our battle, to ask God to expose our foibles, and to commit ourselves to help each of us strengthen our grip on the hilt of our Dagger.