“You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.

Matthew 5:13 [NKJV]

The truth about my life is that I have spent the majority of it worrying about what others might think of me, or what they might say behind my back. Even as a child, I was constantly living in anxiety, worrying that I would never measure up, or that I wasn’t sociable enough, or that I wasn’t outspoken enough.

If there was ever a way I could pull out my old report cards from my primary school days, you will notice something very strange and bizzare about my behavior. I could be really helpful and outspoken one year, and very quiet and withdrawn the following year. And as time passes, I would constantly swing back and forth like a pendulum.

The reason for that is because I had been brought up in a culture where many of us have been taught to fit in, or we would be considered the anti-social wierd kid at school. The ones that bullies would pick on in the school yard. Yeah, I was that kid for a while. Truth is, I have always been a little strange. I could never really quite fit in anywhere. I was, by nature, a different kid from most. But because of peer pressure, and the cultural and societal norms of my time, I didn’t know better too. I only followed what others were telling me about myself.

For as long as I could remember it, I’ve never really had this self-identity thing down. It really wasn’t until I was in my early- to mid-30s that I finally realized who I was, who I wanted to be, and who I could be. When I finally decided to follow that path that was set for me and me alone, I began to truly flourish as an individual.

The Constant Battle of Being Different

It is 30th April 2024, and we are still living in a world where many (I was tempted to say most) people are still living and behaving in a way like they are trying to fit in. They would only say things that they believe others want to hear. They would share stuff online that they think others should (or want to) see, but then hide the parts of themselves that they don’t want others to see. Many of us do something like that only because of two main reasons:

• We’re trying to please someone.
• We’re seeking the approval/acceptance of someone.

In both cases, we would sometimes go to extraordinary lengths to mask our true selves in the hopes that the other party will never get a chance to see who we really are underneath. Well, at least not until they get to know us better much later and/or discover that we are not who we say we are.

While I’m not here to speak for anybody else, I will say this about myself – I have spent far too long, both in my professional and personal life putting on an act. I would say things, and behave in ways that would sometimes allow me to fit in for a little while, but later I would get really exhausted from all the pretend and I would finally just show my true self.

The thing that you need to understand is that my true self isn’t all bad. Thanks to my recently acquired self-awareness, I know now that I do have some really good qualities. At the same time, sure I do have some flaws too. By being able to understand who I am as an individual has also helped me to understand that everybody shares a similar story. We’re not all good, but we’re not all bad either. We are mostly a mixed bag, the bunch of us.

So why are we still trying to pretend to be someone that we’re not?

My Personal Decision to Stop Pretending

It was only in 2018 when I first began this “My Daily Bread” routine that I really started to discover who I am on the inside. Like at the very core of my being. Both the good and the bad. All of it. By being able to embrace who I am on the inside, I also realized that I didn’t have to pretend to be someone else. All I had to do was focus on becoming the best version of myself.

And that is what this daily devotionals has done for me. In the process of understanding how to live according to the word of God, I also became a better version of myself. Even though I didn’t fit in most of the time as myself, I was still able to earn more respect than I could ever have imagined. To me, that was the most rewarding experience that I could remember.

Understanding What It Means to Lose Our Flavor

When the Jesus speaks about how the salt that loses its flavor will become worthless (or irrelevant). I finally get it now. After everything that has happened in the last couple of years, I finally have a better understanding that God’s plan and purpose for us isn’t to fit into the world we live in. As Christians, we are supposed to be the influencers of Christ. Kinda like brand influences right? But yeah. The point of us being out in the world is so that the way we life, the way we act, the way to treat others has to light the way for others to follow. We are supposed to be the positive examples for others. Not the other way around.

By choosing to fit in, I had decided that I was going to leave that light behind. That I would hide that lamp (metaphorically speaking). I was so desperate and eager to fit into the world that we live in that I had lost sight of God’s plan and purpose for me.

If I were salt, I would’ve lost all my flavor.

Being Different Doesn’t Make You Better Than Others

It shouldn’t be something that requires reminding. But I will put it here nonetheless. But I also think that this statement isn’t just for us Christians and believers. This is also for those on the outside looking in at our lives (like goldfishes in a tank…just kidding). Seriously, going back to the entire aim/mission of having this daily devotionals is about learning how to practically apply the word of God into our daily lives. That way, we don’t have to preach the word to someone first, but instead show them who we are simply by our actions and how we live our lives. That is what other people will see and notice.

Being different does not mean that we are better, or more righteous or holy in any kind of way. In fact, I think we are (and by that I mean I am), the greatest sinners. And we are far from being the best examples some times. But just because we are different, doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t make an effort to set a good example for others. By our words and actions we can show others how to have both humility and confidence in themselves. We can show them how we treat others by the way we treat them. We can demonstrate the kind of God we serve by how we serve and add value to each other in our work and our daily lives.

There are so many ways to which we can demonstrate our inner Christ-like nature.

That my fellow brothers and sisters is how we can maintain our flavor and also continue to be a shining beacon of light in the world.

Personal Prayer for Today

Oh thank You Father God for this incredible word and reminder today.

Thank You for speaking to me through Your word about why I was meant to be different from others. Not because I am in anyway better than them. No. But because I am like them, but I am also like Your son Jesus Christ.

Thank You for showing me once again that there is good in being different and being myself. That when I am focused on being the best version of myself, that is when I also managed the earn the greatest amount of respect from those around me.

Thank You for showing me that by being different, and being an influencer for Christ, it means I have to be out there, in the world, doing the work and shining Your light for others to see.

Thank You for once again restoring my flavor like the salt that seasons our food, and bringing that light back into my life like a city on a hill. I am most grateful for it.

I vow to give You all of the praise and all the glory.

In Jesus’ name I pray.

Amen.