An Important Lesson Learned

This post is part of my weekly Time for Honesty. I do my best to share something that's on my heart that is honest, sincere, and transparent - something that will get you thinking and get you to be honest with yourself.

There’s a few things that I’ve learned about myself in the last 21 years: 

1. I’m skinny. Ridiculously so. There’s no getting past that.

2. I tan like nobody’s business… when I have time to get in the sun.

3. I’m very friendly and likeable, for the most part.

Now, as you can imagine, I’m not here to be “honest” about being skinny or about my incredible propensity for getting an awesome tan, though both of those things are very true. Instead, I want to share with you an important lesson I’ve learned first-hand this summer:

It’s okay a good thing if not everybody likes you.

In fact, my mother-in-law said just the other day,

“If everybody likes you, you’re lying to someone.”

 She had no clue how right she was.

This summer has been mostly up, but it has had its share of downs as well. And for the most part, those downs have involved people that don’t seem to like me very much. This wouldn’t be such a big deal, except that I haven’t really known very many people over the course of my life that haven’t liked me.

It’s not that I’m just that cool – I’m simply a laid-back guy that’s easy to get along with. God has given me a tendency toward finding the good in others, and this allows me to befriend almost anyone. In fact, I even remember receiving an “award” for being the “Most Friendly” in our graduating class in high school!

This summer, though, I’ve learned this lesson about people liking me first-hand. I’ve had some pretty rough conversations and interactions with people as a result of that, and I’ve seen just a glimpse of what the future may be like if I plan on rattling cages and ruffling feathers in order to exact change in the world. I’m alive for a reason, and it’s not just to have a family and live in a nice house while working a 9 to 5. My purpose is much bigger than that. 

This realization has probably been my most important gain from this summer. The truth is, you don’t want everyone to like you! Why would you? Some people are just a little insane in the membrane, if you get what I’m saying.

Just think: 70 years ago, there was this guy who ruled over a country and slaughtered millions of people. Now, unless I’m mistaken, I’m pretty sure it’s okay a good thing if that particular guy didn’t like you or me.

Now I’m not saying that anybody I know is as vile as Hitler. However, I think there are some pretty misguided people in this world, and apparently I’ve encountered more than my fair share this summer. And guess what?

It’s okay.
 
It’s fine if I can’t please them.

I shouldn’t regret being who I am because a few people are causing me trouble.

I am who God made me to be, and if that’s not alright with some people, then I’m probably doing something right, not wrong. After all, there was this other guy named Jesus who lived about 2000 years ago (you might’ve heard of him), and 2000 years after he walked the earth, people still don’t like him. Heck, I even have a bone or two to pick with him from time to time.

So although I haven’t enjoyed it, I learned a very important lesson this summer. It’s a sucky one to learn, but I know that God is going to use it to help me continue to grow. And in the meantime, all I can do is continue to be who I’m created to be and continue to love the people around me as much as God allows.

Have you had a lot of experience with people who don't like you? How do you handle those situations?

I'd love to hear from you about this (or anything else)! Just leave me a comment or send me an e-mail! And if you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends - it would mean a lot to me!