Don't be a fake

It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are. ~e.e. cummings
Almost every man wastes part of his life in attempts to display qualities which he does not possess, and to gain applause which he cannot keep. ~Samuel Johnson, The Rambler, 1750

If God had wanted me otherwise, He would have created me otherwise. ~Johann von Goethe

Romans 12:4-8:
⁴Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, ⁵so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. ⁶We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. ⁷If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; ⁸if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

Being who you really are no matter what other people think is really hard. As we are growing up we take cues form those around us as to what is acceptable behavior and what is not. It becomes painful at times to exhibit behavior that is out of the norm. I am not talking about socially unacceptable or rude behavior; I am talking about unpopular behavior. I am speaking of such things as being a bookworm in a family of jocks or musically inclined in a crowd of intellectuals. We try to conform and fit the mold that we believe will gain us the most acceptances by the widest audience. This is really counterproductive. It will never lead to lasting fulfillment in life. It will never garner us the true acceptance that we long for because we can’t forever keep up the façade of being something we are not.

It is easy on websites such as Myspace, Cafemom, etc. to be a chameleon, skipping from one forum to the next and fitting in to whatever tenor is prevailing in that forum. Again we are not being true to ourselves and for those of us who are Christian – we are not being the way God intended us to be. He has a master plan for each of our lives and if we don’t seek his wisdom and discernment and grace we will never find our authentic self. We will go through life just being who we think we should be, saying yes to things that we are asked to do because someone else feels we are qualified based on the false self we have presented them with.

We have to be who we are – no matter where we are – no matter who accepts us. Chances are we are just in the wrong crowd anyway if we aren't accepted for who we are. Time to move on and make new friends based on our real selves. It is the best way to go and the older I get I realize it’s the only way to make true friends and find lasting acceptance and real happiness