A friend of mine invited me to a NASCAR race one time, and I love this friend, so I thought, Sure, why not? I'd never been to a car race before, so I wasn't quite sure what to wear. Most of the people I know who love NASCAR wear racing jackets and hats with a bunch of logos on them. Right around the time I was Googling drivers to try to figure out which driver's jersey I would wear, I remembered I don't know any drivers and I don't know anything about NASCAR. Here's the thing: it didn't matter what I wore. We don't need to dress like the rest of the crowd just to enjoy an afternoon with a friend. We just need to show up the way we are.
We spend a lot more time than we realize thinking about what others might think. We worry about whether we'll wear the right clothes, or say the right words, or be accepted by whichever group we're around. The truth-is, it gets in the way of us just being who God made us to be.
We don't need to conform in order to belong. You'll rob people of the opportunity to see the world through your eyes if you try to act like everyone else-or even worse, somebody else. The price of acceptance is too high if it costs who you are.
Do you want to do something awesome for God? Go be you. The more yourself you are, the better chance we have to see a little bit more of Jesus uniquely expressed through you.
In what ways are you focusing too much on what others think about you?
