The other night I met with a man who a friend who connected me with. We don’t know the ‘why’ behind our connection yet. We’re figuring that out. He could become a friend, a mentor, a business opportunity… We’ll see.
We enjoyed a 3 hour conversation about business, life, and Spirit. For most of the night, the conversation was spontaneous and authentic. We were honest and real with one another.
At around the two-hour mark, we started talking about the church that Jen and I started in our home. I told him about how it came to be. I mentioned the first message. I spoke on the “Lord’s Prayer” … It’s our request to God, and His request to us. Read it forward and it tells us what to ask for. Read it backwards (Like a Led Zeppelin record) and it tells us what we need to do to get it.
The man asked me to share more of this. I got my phone. Looked up the Lord’s Prayer. I then talked through the message with painful awkwardness. I stumbled. I stammered. I got frustrated.
When I finished, he asked, “Are you trying to impress me?” I was stumped. I was. I was really trying to get it right instead taking the time to connect.
He talked about a common drive that humans have. We are concerned with looking good or avoiding looking bad. We yearn for approval of others. We try to fit with our perception of their standard of what ‘looks good.’ We reach and strain to be what we think they want us to be.
Alternatively, we are worried about looking bad. We either want to impress or avoid disappointing others. This leads us to live the life others expect of us rather than the life we choose. Do you want your tombstone to tell people about the person who you were or the person who you weren’t?
When we’re inauthentic and we get rejected, we didn’t get rejected … the fake person we put out there got rejected. We aren’t truly living when we do this. We’re just acting the part.
If we don’t show people who we are, they can’t treat us as we want to be treated. It takes courage to live the life you’ve been given. It takes strength to be authentic.
Are you showing the courage to live?
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