Don't Follow the Crowd!

     What do you stand for? What do you believe? Do you have a set of core values that you don't compromise regardless of the pressures to conform? Do you ever change them to suit a certain situation? When your with a crowd of people who do or say something that you don't agree with, do you speak your mind about it? Or do you just stand on the sidelines and say nothing? One of the things I've noticed all too often is that people say they stand for something, but when it gets time to actually make a stand for it, cop out and sit on the sidelines as people take advantage of this. It happens in politics all the time. A set of people are scared to come out in opposition of a cause they don't believe in because society has told them that you are not suppose to believe that. Or that your not suppose to side with a certain group because society has placed you already in this group. What do you do?

      Let's take another example. Football. Tim Tebow. Tim Tebow grew up with Missionary parents. Sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ all over the world. They stood for something. You've heard the story of his mother's decision. Abort or possibly die. She stuck by her core beliefs and neither of them happened. Now I'm not saying that because she did this is why she is alive. Only God knows. But the implications of her standing up for her beliefs even in the midst of what I would imagine, tremendous pressure to conform, has had an even greater impact. Tim Tebow's life has been one huge impact, that those in the "system" mindset have already labeled him. All his life, he's been told he can't play football. He's too slow. Can't throw. Never make it. All Tim Tebow wanted to do is play football. He broke High School records. He broke College records. And we've all seen what he can do in the what, 4 games he has played in the NFL? He took his team 2 games away from the Super Bowl! Tim Tebow is a linchpin. He stands for something. What he does, he does with passion and commitment and is not afraid to stand up for that. If he would have listened to everybody, he probably wouldn't be playing football! Who knows? 

      So again, I ask you. What do you stand for? Are you working for something you don't believe in? Are you letting others dictate your life? Don't settle for what life gives you. Find your calling and seek it with passion and commitment!  Trust me, you'll feel better. In closing, I want to share with you something my favorite English Teacher in High School wrote in my yearbook upon graduation that I cherish & have never forgotten. She wrote, "The most important thing I can tell you is to believe in yourself. There will always be people who try to tell you how & when to do things, but you carry within you your own best understanding of how to lead your life."