So, let me let you in on a secret: as introverted as I am, and as much as I do outright dislike people sometimes, I’m a bit of a people-pleaser. Yup, shocker, I guess. And I’ve only just figured this out myself. But I’ve been reading this lovely book called "The Beautiful Outlaw" (it always starts with a book, doesn’t it?) and it’s about the character of Jesus and how it seems we’ve been missing out on half of who He is. Anyhow, I came to this chapter about how Jesus is rather scandalously honest (Eldredge 83). He was blunt and very to-the-point. Remember when he called the Pharisees “sons of hell” and “snakes” (oh, they didn’t teach you that in Sunday school)? Anyhow, I realized that if you try to please everyone, eventually, you’re going to run out of steam and maybe even end up becoming someone who is quite different from yourself. Jesus certainly didn’t care about being in the “in” crowd. This man broke the Sabbath laws, touched lepers (think the equivalent to touching someone with Ebola), and flipped tables in the temple (Eldredge 34, 81, and 86). The thing is, He did care, though. He cared about the right things. And these are the things that He’d give up His reputation, His physical well-being and even His “alone time” for (that’s asking a lot, especially of an introvert)! I guess I simply decided that I wanted to live like that. I want to be real and not float above this earth in a sort of false spiritual smog. And I definitely don’t want to be seen as some sort of crowd-pleasing Pilate. So that is why I ended up coming to this point where I realized that I actually no longer cared. I mean, I care enough that I still want to be in people’s good opinions and I’m not going to walk around naked with my hair unwashed like some sort of madwoman, but if I have an opinion that someone doesn’t agree with, then that’s all right. I don’t wear makeup that much anymore and I’ve started truly letting myself enjoy the things I like and I’ve stopped trying to like the things others do that I don’t. This doesn’t mean that I won’t respect others. It doesn’t mean that I’m going to be loud about my own thoughts and completely disregard others. It doesn’t mean that I won’t give new things and ideas a try. I guess it just means that I’m not afraid anymore.

Citations:

Edredge, John. "The Beautiful Outlaw." New York: Faith Words, 2011. Print.