Vulnerability can imply weakness. We want to protect those we call vulnerable people- children and the elderly- for example, from predatory people.
It can also imply transparency- being forthright, forthcoming and even painfully honest about one's struggles. This takes courage. This type of vulnerability is a rare strength.
In life we are often taught to hide our true feelings. Children are sometimes punished for being honest: "Did you take the dollar that was lying on the counter?"
If Jimmy answers, "I did it, Mommy" what is going to happen? Some mothers would thank Jimmy for his honesty and take the time to explore why he took it. Some others will lash out with angry words and even some type of physical punishment or other severe consequence. When the latter happens, what does Jimmy learn? That it is painful to be honest. Honesty is punished.
Yet I argue that vulnerability is worth the risk, though being vulnerable with everyone is not always a wise choice.
Richard Rohr writes, "It is a risky position to live undefended, in a kind of constant openness to the other--because it means others could sometimes actually wound us. Indeedvulnera comes from the Latin, "to wound." But only if we take this risk do we allow for the opposite possibility: the other might also gift us, free us, and even love us."
Vulnerability is what allows us to take a risk with God. We wonder, "If I tell God everything, the whole ugly truth, how will He respond? If I do this with my pastor (or confidante), how will she respond?" Biblically, we know that God pours His mercy into those who confess their sins (Proverbs 28:13; 1 John 1:9). We are not always so sure of human beings, but in the course of aiming for wholeness you will find a few trustworthy ones, and when you share your whole story with them, divine light will enter in and God's healing will begin! As Dr. Curt Thompson says, "Evil is given no oxygen to breathe where vulnerability is given the opportunity to abide is a safe, predictable space."