BE YOURSELF

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

My homiletic professor at Abilene Christian encouraged young preachers to be themselves. He knew the tendency to try to act like and sound like older, respected preachers. He told us to just be ourselves and that we would communicate the Word of God forcefully and sincerely. This is good advice not just for preachers but for everyone. We just need to be who we are instead of always trying to be somebody else. Many times we do this in an effort to please other people. Stop it! Be who you are! Be the best you can be, but be real.

In his excellent book, Truman, David McCullough says this about people from Missouri: “…they could be tough, courageous, blunt, touchy, narrow-minded, intolerant, and quarrelsome.” I do not know a lot of people from Missouri but two I do know fit this description perfectly. Radio talk show host, Rush Limbaugh and my friend Paul Covey are from Missouri and what McCullough said about people from Missouri describes them both.

Rush is a fantastic communicator and is beloved by millions. At the same time he is probably despised by an equal number. That’s the way it is with people that are tough, courageous, blunt, touchy, narrow-minded, intolerant and quarrelsome. So be it. If Rush tried to be somebody he is not, we would turn him off. The ones who dislike him would not start liking him, even if he changed. My friend Paul is an elder in the church. He is effective only when he is being who he really is. Occasionally, because of critics, he tries to be somebody else. He loses his effectiveness. We all need to be who we are. There is a lot of stuff that goes into making us who we are—like being from Missouri.

I’m not from Missouri but I like who I am and I am going to continue to be me. You don’t like me? Ok. I wish you did but I’m not going to change for you because it wouldn’t do any good. As the old song says, “I gotta be me…”. I’m having fun and I have no desire to change—not even for you.