Our Power Is In Our Purpose

When Jesus Redeemed Us He Freed Us

People-pleasing is a prison. The Rikers Island of creativity, growth, productivity and progress.

Most people don’t even realize they’re imprisoned. Because it doesn’t feel like bondage. It feels like affirmation. But anything that requires us to perform in order to be accepted is not freedom. It is slavery with a smile.

Yet, it is a problem for far too many especially in the age of social media. Don’t think this is you? How many times do you go back and check a post or video to check the number of likes or views?

Many of us will readily say this isn’t us, especially if we are successful, have it going on in our career and are members of the right clubs, organizations and online communities.

Yet, this is the first clue. Seeking to be part of the right club, organization, or online community to be seen in the “right” light. Or, to prove to the boss that we are “in” with the right people or to someone else, our value.

People-pleasing is a subtle thing that overtakes us when we aren’t looking. Only when we start to care about who is looking.

It will keep us locked up, locked down, and locked out of the life God actually created and purposed us to live.

He didn’t create us to mimic others. He created us to manifest Him.
We were not born to blend in. We were born to stand out in our uniqueness.

You and I are an original one-of-a-kind design. Authenticity is not a personality trait. It is divine strategy. God placed something in you no one else carries.

We were created to be authentic. Why? Because we are created in His image and authenticity is his character.

What if you possessed the only one-of-a-kind vehicle in existence? A classic. Think of how valuable that would be and what someone would pay you for it.

Like the ruby red slippers Judy Garland wore in The Wizard of Oz. Shoes worn by an actress in a make-believe story sold for $28 million. Tack on the auction house’s fee and those shoes sold for a whopping $32.5 million. A new record for movie memorabilia!

And these were a pair of shoes from a fictional movie! Why did they sell for so much? Because of their value to the person who would take pride in owning them.

God created you and me. His pride is in who we are - our value to him. Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:10, "For we are His workmanship (masterpiece), created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them."

We are infinitely more valuable than anything material. We carry eternal significance. The tragedy is when we bury our uniqueness beneath the shallow soil of public approval.

Popularity is not a sign of success. It is often the substitute for it. Jesus never chased crowds. In fact, He often withdrew from them. Why? Because purpose is never crowd-dependent. We can’t lead people and be led by their opinions at the same time.

Authenticity requires courage and begins when we stop chasing applause and start walking in assignment.

And we can’t live authentically when we live and perform for people.

The enemy of purpose is popularity. Trying to keep everyone happy will leave us empty. Because no matter what we do, it will never be enough.

We will twist ourselves into emotional pretzels trying to keep the peace, win approval, avoid criticism or rack up likes, views, followers and thumbs up on social media.

That’s not peace. That’s bondage. Evidenced by how much time many of us spend scrolling.

I have learned this well. We can’t fulfill our God-given purpose by trying to win the applause of people. People are fickle. They will cheer us one minute and crucify us the next.

Jesus knew this. This is why He never put His trust in crowds and was never impressed by crowd size. In fact, he would spend time trying to get away from crowds.

Not because he didn’t love people, but because he understood them. People are always out for their own selfish reasons, even it means using others to get it. Jesus understood this.

We should take our cue and emulate Jesus.

God wired each of us uniquely on purpose, for purpose. When we dull our light to fit into someone else’s shade, we’re telling God, “I don’t trust what you made.”

Let that sink in.

Being authentic isn’t about being loud, edgy or popular. It’s about being true. First, true to ourselves. Once we are true to ourselves, we can accept ourselves and this dispels the need to try to make ourselves acceptable to others.

It’s about knowing who you are and whose you are, and refusing to play small just to keep people comfortable.

There is freedom in that. Freedom to say “no.” Freedom to stand firm. Freedom to be misunderstood and not flinch. Most important, the freedom to stop explaining yourself.

People don’t have to get it. Some won’t ever get it or you and that’s okay. Everybody’s not meant to walk with you, affirm you, or understand your calling.

You are not rude when you choose to walk your own path. You are not arrogant. You are just clear. Clear on who you are and where you want to go.

Jesus didn’t go around explaining Himself to some and making excuses for others. He stayed on mission. We can’t lead, create, or walk in our calling and still be addicted to other people’s opinions.

Let it go. Even more, let them go. If not, you will find yourself making excuses for actions you’ve taken or for the feelings you feel, and that is when you have crossed the line.

To play on a line from the classic movie, Love Story, “Love means never having to say you’re sorry,” living your life means never having to explain yourself.

Our validation doesn’t come from the crowd but from the cross. When Jesus redeemed us, he freed us.

We can never be fully free while trying to be who others expect us to be. Not for bosses, friends, neighbors, colleagues or church members. We’ve got to get to the point where we can say to ourselves, “I’d rather be rejected for being real than celebrated for being fake.”

That’s when you will breathe easier. That’s when you will move bolder. That’s when God backs us. Because we are finally showing up as who He created, not not as a social media image we have crafted.

One of the hardest things to do in today’s environment is to live free, work free and be free. We live in an America that rewards tribalism and groupthink even when we know what the group thinks is wrong.

Only when we are bold enough to be free, will we be truly free.

Be bold. Be clear. Be unapologetically, unmistakably you. Not the version shaped by fear. Not the one dressed up in people’s approval. But the version shaped by purpose and lit by the light of truth.

We weren’t born to be popular. We were born to be free. Only when we truly get this will we truly be free.