So, people don’t like you because you are different? Well, people did not like Jesus either, but that did not stop Him from doing what He had to do here on earth. No matter what we do, there will be people who don’t like us! Even when we do well, and that’s a fact!
For many years, I tried to fit in with the crowd. I changed my attitude, the way I dressed and spoke to fit in, but inside I was never happy. I was trying to make people like me for who I wasn’t, instead of finding out who I was and finding friends who would accept me for who I truly was.
This façade ended the day I gave my life to God. When I found God, I found out the person I was meant to be. The mask came off and I finally was able to be comfortable in my own skin. I became my best self. Did people like it? No. Did I lose friends? Yes! Do I care? No! You see, I have come to learn that when you truly give your life to God, the world will come against you, because the world no longer accepts you. You no longer belong to world, but to God.
When people at work mock me because of my faith and the way I choose to live my life, it does not bother me anymore. In fact I rejoice because it shows who I truly belong to and that I am not one more among the crowd. I understand that the world is not supposed to like me because I am no longer friends with it.
The only place I fit in, is in the Kingdom of God and even here, I don’t accept to be one more, but one who makes a difference.
For us who have chosen to follow Christ, we have to be ready to face persecution, to be misjudged and criticized. Why? Because the Word of God says, “A disciple is not above His teacher, nor a servant above his master....If they called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household?” (Matthew 10:24-25).
Don’t make the mistake I made by seeking people’s approval. Embrace your uniqueness and think, why try fit in, when God called me to stand out?
By Sibon Phiri
Newspaper article much :)
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