Free To Be Me

People do it. They mean well. They just can't help themselves. They're all the time trying to get somebody to do what they think they need to do.

Around the holiday times and big family gatherings, the questions are bound to surface: "So, when are you going to find yourself a man?" (Hopefully, no one will be asking me that particular question.) "When are you two going to get around to having some children?" "Are you going to finish your degree (hint, hint)?" "You've got to go to college. It's the only way to get ahead in life." "Why don't you just leave him? He's no good for you." "Why would you want to let go of a secure ministry career in an established church and go out on a limb to plant a brand new church from scratch? You ought to just stick with where you are."

In a letter to the believers at Corinth, Paul writes about pressures exerted by others to marry or not, to divorce, to push for a different station in life. He counsels:

You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. (1 Cor. 7:23)

As a person who craves approval, I need to hear that. And I love it! God paid a huge price for my freedom--the blood of Jesus. But, well-meaning or not, people will try to pressure me to conform to their expectations. The danger in that is that I may live my life trying to please people instead of embracing the fact that God now defines who I am. He calls me to a new kind of reality that people living with an earthly perspective can't see or understand.

I am free to pursue God's unique plan for my life instead of caving into the pressure of what others think I should do or be.

Lord, thank you for freeing me to live wholly for you in my own uniqueness. Amen.

Just wondering: What pressure have you felt from others who are trying to direct your life? Why do you think they do that?