“Greatness lies not so much in possessing strength as in making a wise and divine use of such strength.” 48:7.27 (557.11)
We often admire strength because we associate it with achievement. Strength can mean intelligence, physical ability, financial resources, authority, confidence, influence, or simply the ability to get things done. But possessing strength is not the same as possessing greatness. Power can build or destroy. Intelligence can solve problems or manipulate people. Influence can inspire or control. Wealth can create opportunities or become an instrument of self-interest. The difference is not the strength itself—it is the wisdom guiding it.
This becomes very practical in everyday life. A strong personality can dominate a conversation or make space for someone who is struggling to speak. A person with authority can use it to protect themselves or to empower the people around them. Someone with great knowledge can use it to prove they are smarter or to help someone else grow. Even emotional strength can be used in different ways: we can become harder and less vulnerable, or stronger precisely because we have learned compassion, patience, and self-control. Our greatest abilities reveal their true value through the way we use them.
There is a spiritual dimension to this that is easy to overlook. If our abilities are gifts entrusted to us, then perhaps they come with a responsibility. We don't need to minimize our strengths to be humble. We can develop them fully while asking a more important question: “What are these strengths for?” The answer changes everything. Intelligence becomes a tool for understanding. Wealth becomes an opportunity for stewardship. Leadership becomes service. Confidence becomes courage. Influence becomes encouragement. Strength becomes something that flows outward rather than something we simply accumulate.
And this is where greatness becomes accessible to everyone. We don't need extraordinary power to practice it. We can use whatever strength we have wisely today. We can use our words to heal instead of wound. Our experience to mentor instead of judge. Our position to open doors instead of close them. Our resources to create opportunity instead of merely increasing comfort. Divine use of strength begins in the smallest decisions about what we do with what has been entrusted to us.
Perhaps the real measure of strength is not “How powerful am I?” but “What happens to the people and world around me because of the way I use my power?”
What strength has been entrusted to you—and how could you use it more wisely for someone else's good today?