Don't try to be someone you are not

Hebrews 11:24-27 (NLT)

It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin. He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great reward. It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger. He kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible. 

Hebrews 11 is the well-known faith chapter of the Bible.  Verses 1 and 6 are among the most quoted verses of the entire Bible.  Many examples of what faith means are written in this chapter.  One of those examples is Moses, whose faith is described in verses 24-27.     

Moses knew who he was and who he was not.  Leadership begins with understanding yourself.  Leadership does not begin with understanding the people you are trying to lead. You need to know who you are and you need to know who you’re not. You need to come to grips with your background.  You need to know your strengths and your weaknesses.  Moses knew that he was imperfect.  In fact, throughout the Bible, God used people with great weaknesses.  He uses people for His purposes in spite of their weaknesses.  If you avail yourself to Him, as Moses did (read again this passage), God will use you in some kind of leadership role.     

A major teaching here is that you are not to try to be someone you are not.  Moses had to choose whether to be the adopted grandson of the most powerful person in the world at that time or be a follower of the Lord.  He chose relative misery and a humble life over fame, fortune, and comfort.  Why?  He chose to be who he really was, the son of a Hebrew slave.  He did not choose to be somebody that he really wasn’t. 

I see this occasionally in my own life and I believe that most people deal with this.  You have a hard time accepting who you are, who God created you to be.  You pretend to be someone else.   Steven Jobs expressed this well in his 2005 commencement speech at Stanford University:  “Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

          

Moses chose not to waste his time living someone else’s life.  He knew who he was, he was not a phony.  So don’t you be one either.  Quit trying to be somebody you’re not.  Be yourself.  Be who God created you to be.  How do you do that?  It’s a mindset you develop.  You accept yourself.  You ask God to give you guidance.  Like everything else in the life of a Christian, it’s a faith issue.  Like Moses and all other faithful people listed in Hebrews 11, you choose faith in God and let Him take over your life and guide you.  When you know who you are you can serve God and through faith in Him serve others.  Humility, as Moses’ example demonstrated, comes easily when you know and accept who you really are, who God created you to be.  Otherwise, your life will always be filled with stress because of your phoniness.   Keep you eyes, your mind, your heart on the One who is invisible as Hebrews 11:27 says.  You will find peace and rest for our soul.