Scripture I'm reflecting on: 1 Samuel 8:20
"We want to be like the nations around us. Our king will judge us and lead us into battle"
Samuel had brought Isreal back from many years of darnkess. But he was now old, and it was time for him to prepare for Isreal after he was no longer judge. The Isrealites however, wanted to be like the other nations around them, and requested a king, even against God's wishes.
This turned out to be a very bad decision.....
Reflection:
Do you ever find yourself changing to fit in with others? The world is full of temptation to compromise our character, our morals, our beliefs for secular life improvement. Whether it be for money, power, acceptance, friendship, or a relationship, we all will at some point in our lives face situations where we are tempted to change, compromise, or conform for these reasons.
This verse stopped me in the middle of my reading, because I knew instantly it was one I needed to focus on. I spent the majority of my life trying to fit in with people at the expense of my character, to the point where I probably couldn't even tell you who I really was. I acted one way when I was with the teammates, another way when way around people at school, another way around my family, another way around girls, another way around teachers, on and on. I was a chameleon, my colors (my character) changed with my surroundings. I said what I thought people wanted to hear, I laughed at things that weren't funny, I agreed with things that were wrong and immoral. I lied about things to make myself seem cool. I remember when my high school friends started talking about parties and drinking they did over the weekend, I would always lie and say I went to some party too, or make up stories about all the "cool" stuff I did. All I ever strived for was to be like other people. I wanted to be like the popular kids. I wanted to be like the guys who got all the girls. I wanted to be something I was not.
I wasted A LOT of my life doing this.
Faith is the answer to this temptation. I know now that there is one person I want to conform my character to, and that is God. I don't need acceptance from anyone but Him. Don't get me wrong, I still battle with these temptations. But through faith, I have been able to get to a point where I am not concerned with what other people think. Sure, I want people to like me. But I want them to like me for who I am, not who they want me to be.
Final Thought:
I hope to relay two main points from this devotion. The first is that living the way I did, that is, living solely to please other people, is miserable. It's no way to live. You will never be truly happy. Sure you may get temporary pleasure from having friends. Having money. Having power. But it won't last if you are lying about who you are to get there.
The second point is that if you find yourself doing this, or realize you have changed your core character and turned into something you dislike, it is not too late to change. I spent all of my high school and college days being a chameleon. But I managed to change through faith, and it is a great feeling. And it will be a great feeling for you too.
I've seen people sacrifice their morals for money. I've seen people compromise their character to get a promotion. I've seen guys lie about girls they have slept with to seem cool. I have seen girls date guys they don't even like just to be accepted in the "clique". Not only will this lead to your own unhappiness, but it will lead to bad things in your life as well. You can't hide who you are forever, and you certainly can't hide who you are from God.
Be who God made you to be. I can promise you, being that person is infinitely better than the person you try to change yourself into!
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