Have you ever experienced an uncomfortable “Aha” moment? A moment when you were confronted with a realization about yourself that did not fit your own preconceived notion of who or what you thought yourself to be.

 A recent social occasion forced me to take a painful look at myself and acknowledge that I am not who I thought I was or who I want to be. In this setting I was childishly pouting because I did not receive the attention, I thought I deserved. It was humbling and embarrassing to admit to myself a character flaw that I should have outgrown long ago.

The uncomfortable realization that I can be a total jerk was at the least unsettling. While not making excuses for my attitude, I would suggest that there are moments when we have all felt like failures, losers, or yes, even jerks. We understand that as human beings we all walk with feet of clay, which means we are susceptible to the whims and vagaries of our emotions.

Paul describes the inner conflict dramatically with these words, “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do” (Romans 7:19). As he struggles with this inner conflict he declares, “Wretched man that I am!” (Romans 7:24a).

The feeling of wretchedness is painful and even debilitating. We do not intend to hurt others. We don’t plan to be rude or unkind, but we walk with feet of clay, and our human weaknesses often controls our more rational and compassionate behaviors.

The idiom “feet of clay” comes from the biblical book of Daniel. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had a dream of a statue with a head of gold, silver, bronze, and iron, but the feet were made of stone and clay (see Daniel 2:31-45). Daniel interprets the dream, explaining that the clay signifies the vulnerability and eventual destruction of the kingdom.

Feet of clay is used to describe someone who appears to be strong, powerful, or admirable, but possesses a hidden flaw or weakness. The phrase highlights the fact that even those persons we admire the most are ultimately human and thus flawed. There is an inherent vulnerability in being human.

When we discover that human flaw in someone we respect and admire, it is disappointing and disillusioning. Our hero or heroine is, like the rest of us, subject to human frailty.

When we are confronted by our own human flaw, it is frustrating and challenging. We can make the excuse, “I walk with feet of clay,” or we can confront our failure and determine to deal with the deficiency and redefine ourselves as we believe God intended.

There is a psychological tool called the Johari window that helps individuals understand their self-perception and how they are perceived by others. The Johari window is a visual representation, like a window with four panes, each representing a different aspect of self-awareness.

The first pane is the Open Area; this quadrant represents information about yourself that is known to both you and others.

The second quadrant is the Blind Area. This quadrant contains information that others know about you, but you are unaware of.

The third area is the Hidden Area, or façade, this includes information that you know about yourself but keep hidden from others.

The fourth quadrant is the Unknown Area; this quadrant stands for information that is unknown to both you and others. 

To engage in the Johari process is to expose oneself to the vulnerability of hearing uncomfortable truths about ourselves. We may sadly discover that others’ perceptions of us do not match what we think of ourselves. It can be humbling to learn, as I indicated above, that we are not who we thought we are. The façade we present to the public may be hiding uncomfortable truths about who we really are.

Although challenging, the Johari window pushes us to look deeply at ourselves, examine our strengths and weaknesses and build upon those strengths while facing the weaknesses that are part and parcel of the human condition.

The statue in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream had feet made of iron and clay. The metaphor is important. Iron crushes clay. Clay stands for our human weaknesses and vulnerabilities. It is the cop out we use for failure and discouragement. It is the cry we raise in self defense when we have failed those who trust us. Iron is power of forgiveness. Forgiveness of ourselves. Iron is the power of grace. We are human. We are fallible. Inevitably we will let down someone we love. Iron is the love that grants us a “do-over” when we know we do not deserve it.

The fourth quadrant of the Johari window is the Unknown Area. This is the area where we are unknown to ourselves and to others. This is the area where we are known and loved by God. We do not always know our weaknesses and vulnerabilities, but we are known. We are known and loved by the Creator. It is in this circumstance where iron conquers clay. We will always walk with feet of clay. That is the inevitable reality of being human. We always experience grace. That is the inevitable reality of being a child of God.