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PROGRAM D-7701
Are you happy with who you are? Or are you often trying to copy other people and do things the way they do them? I know that all of us struggle at times with the “copy-cat syndrome,” and sadly some people spend their entire lives trying to be like others.
Not long ago I found myself in the “copy-cat syndrome”—trying to be what someone else wanted me to be. Do you have that problem too? It seems to hit me periodically and unexpectedly. Before I realize what’s happening, I’m comparing myself to others or wishing I were different, or trying to be what someone else thinks I should be.
When you’re in this “copy-cat syndrome,” there is an uneasiness in your spirit, you often feel guilty about something but you’re not quite sure what, there are knots in your stomach, and eventually a general sense of gloom and despair takes over. Can you recognize some of these things in yourself?
This “copycat syndrome” happens to us when we compare ourselves to others. If you remember the parable of the talents, you will recognize the strong teaching Jesus gave us against doing this.
There were three servants given three different amounts, or resources, to use. The two servants who were good stewards of what was entrusted to them received the same reward, even though one had twice as much to show for his effort as the other did. However the one servant who did nothing with his one talent was strongly condemned by the master, not because he had only one, but because he didn’t do anything with what he had.
You see, Jesus doesn’t expect me to do what he has given you to do. He doesn’t ask or even want me to try to do what you do or the way you do it. He has gifted us individually in different ways and amounts, but in his sight, the important issue is not how much we have, but how we use what we have. It’s not where we start, but where we finish.
If you’re not happy with who you are, it’s probably because you’ve been comparing yourself to others and feeling inadequate or left out. That’s not only a bad idea, it is a sin. It’s the same as saying God made a mistake in the way he made you. God doesn’t want us to be copy-cats; he wants us to be the originals he has created us to be.
