Uncompromised

Uncompromised

But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace. Galatians 1:15

Entertainers Isaac Hayes and Bernie Mac, who died within days of each other in 2008, blazed their own trails. They believed their originality—not their ability to market themselves or come up with commercially viable material—was the key to their success. Hayes said he and artists of his era looked for ways to express themselves without focusing on what sells and what doesn’t. Mac said he was his own kind of comic, not trying to conform to the expectations of others. His way might have been a longer road to success, but it was also the key to his success. Both entertainers emphasized how important it is to be yourself, express who you are, and do what you love to do.

That’s not only a key to success, it’s a key to relationships. Too many people compromise themselves in order to live up to the expectations of others. Some are still trying to compensate for things they missed in childhood, or positioning themselves to get their careers on track, or making up for past failures. We have all kinds of ways of adapting ourselves to make relationships work, even when we know the relationships aren’t healthy. In work, in relationships, in any area of life, we can tend to pose as someone we’re not.

But each of us was created for a reason. No matter how we’ve messed up or what we’ve missed, the future is still ahead of us. We have choices about how to handle it. We’ve learned some things from our pasts that might make the journey better. If we know—deep down in our cores—who we were created to be, we’re much more likely to make the most of the future. We can build our relationships authentically, basing them on who we really are, not who others want us to be. When we develop friendships, we’ll know they are genuine because people will be relating to and accepting the real us. We can live our lives without compromising ourselves.

That’s what Bernie Mac and Isaac Hayes did, and they were loved for their originality and creativity. They chose not to base their lives on superficialities but rather on the ways God made them and the expression of the genuine persons they were. You can too.

Uncommon Key > Be yourself. God had a purpose in making you the way He did. When you compromise yourself, you miss that purpose and weaken your ability to have genuine relationships.