Exposing the Myths

Myth #1: Everyone will like you.

The first and greatest commandment is to love God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength. And the second is to love your neighbor as yourself. This seems very easy to comprehend... but to what extent are we willing to fulfill these commandments? I think sometimes we too easily get them confused. Some situations that we will encounter as Christians will lead us to be disliked by many. Many times we're going to have to follow God first and foremost, and let everything else fall into place. Yes, we have to love our neighbors and treat them as we would want to be treated, but let us not forget that God comes first. His will over ours, His will over theirs, His will over everyone's. There are plenty of examples of people in the Bible that weren't liked by others because of things they did for God. One good example? JESUS. So many could not stand Him. But He did not stop. He did the will of His father, and He tried His best to make everyone see His wonderful intentions. Sometimes this didn't work out, but I believe in the end Jesus came to terms with the fact that "everyone will not like you."


Myth #2: You have to make everyone happy.

Wrong again! This can come from the first myth of everyone liking you. Sometimes God will put things in your path that will cause others to hurt. This is a part of life. I'm not saying it's God's will for people to hurt, but it is God's will for people to grow and to learn. In every situation we go through, in every trial, we are being taught. But it is up to us to find out the lesson God has for us. Through tough times and hard struggles, we will have to hurt people. We will have to let people down. Maybe the lesson there isn't for us, but for them. Who are we to shut a door that God has opened? Maybe something we cannot even fathom is about to happen in another person's life. And it goes the other way as well. Everyone does not have to make you happy. If you see it one way, you must see it the other. God will put situations in other peoples' lives to teach us something. We will hurt. But we will grow. I know it's easier to think that our purpose on this earth is to please those around us and make sure they're happy.


The fact of the matter is, our purpose here is to worship and love our God. Let us not forget to place HIM first in every situation, and nothing of self. Hurt will come. Some people will hate you, others will love you. You will cause smiles and you will cause trials. But through it all, keep your eyes on God and His perfect plan will result.

The Problem With Perfection

Do you know someone who backslides about every 3 months? They live in sin and thrive off of the things of the world - then they have an encounter with God and go back to the straight and narrow. About 3 months pass by, maybe even less, and you notice they're back to their old ways. Have you ever wondered why this is such an issue? Well here's my theory:
Yes, we are supposed to strive for perfection. Yes, we are supposed to be like Jesus, follow His example, and try our best to live each day of our lives for Him. But sometimes we can get so caught up in all of the emotions that we aren't living for Jesus anymore, we're just trying to be perfect. We want to do good for God, but at the same time we know others are watching and if they even see the slightest hint of us falling, then they'll turn on us. We set ourselves up for failure. I know I've done it in the past, and maybe some of you have as well. After the encounter with God you feel so close to Him. You read your Bible every day, you go to church every time the doors open, you read the latest Christian literature, you have deep conversations about God with random people, and you surround yourself with great Christian friends. And then you get burnt out. You want to try something else... so let's say you go to a party. You used to struggle with drinking, but you've put that in your past. Someone hands you a beer. You drink it. You're gone. The rest is history. The weeks following this you do not read your Bible, you do not pray, you do not discuss God. You are embarassed. You have failed. You are not perfect.
I think that a way Christians can deal with this vicious cycle is by understanding that perfection actually isn't an option. Striving for it? YES! Do strive to be like our savior! But, if you were meant to be perfect... what'd Jesus die for? The moment we start demanding perfection and obsessing in every area of our lives is the moment we replace the savior. And that my friends, is a dangerous move. So instead of staying in the rut - instead of setting ourselves up for failure - how about we just live one day at a time? Let's live for God, not for the idea of perfection. I think more meaningful relationships with our Lord would result.