Bible Reading: Hebrews 5:11-6:1
Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Hebrews 6:1
“THAT’S IT!” Will bellowed, slamming the front door behind him and throwing his book bag on the hall table. ”I’m never going back to Driver’s Ed class again!”
“What’s this all about?” Will’s dad asked.
“Oh, nothing,” Will answered sarcastically, “except that my life is over. I’ll never get my driver’s license, that’s for sure. I felt like a total dork, Dad,” Will continued. “First, I started the car. I was so nervous. I put my seat belt on and adjusted the mirror. Then I forgot the car was already running. I grabbed the key and turned it again, and it sounded like the engine was about to blow up. The guys wouldn’t stop razzing me about it. It’s just so much to think about, you know? I’ll never learn how to drive.”
Did Will learn to drive? Of course. And over the next weeks he figured out that the other guys were just as nervous as he was and felt just as incompetent.
If you don’t have moments when you feel incompetent, then you’re not human. What you might not know is that other kids have to cope with the same kinds of limitations, hardships, and lessons. Realizing that keeps you out of a trap-thinking you’re worse than everybody else, labeling yourself a loser, and pulling away from people.
The best thing you can be is yourself. You don’t have to play the people-pleasing game of trying to be like the classmate who starts at quarterback, plays first -chair violin, and has the highest GPA in the grade. You’re not grown up until you outgrow the tendency to imitate others and try to match their behavior and attitudes. This dilemma led one college student to write:
All my life I’ve tried to please others.
All my life I’ve put on an act for others.
I will not do this.
For If I spend my time trying to be someone else,
Who will spend time being me?
Next time you feel a flash of incompetence, imagine Jesus sitting next to you. Is he razzing you? Hardly. He accepts you right where you are. He knows you are still growing.
REFLECT: Since Jesus accepts you, don’t you think it’s okay to accept yourself? How are you going to work at that?
PRAY: Jesus thanks for your acceptance. Help me to like myself as much as you like me.
