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PROGRAM D-8047
We encounter problems when we try to be someone else. Have you ever wished you were someone very different than who you are, a different personality type altogether? If you think about it, that attitude is like a slap in God’s face: It says we’re convinced God didn’t give us a fair shake, or he made a mistake in the way he designed us.
Scripture tells us that we are fearfully and wonderfully made, that God knit us together in our mother’s womb, that he is intimately acquainted with us down to counting the hairs on our heads, and that we are each created in his image. Put all those facts in your head and consider what that means.
First of all, you’re not a mistake. You’ve all heard little jokes like “When God was giving out brains, he forgot you,” or “When God gave out looks, you thought he said books and you said, ‘I don’t want any.’“ Perhaps those jokes aren’t as harmless as they seem, because they teach a basic untruth. God didn’t make a mistake when he designed you. You were planned in the mind of God. You’re not an accident of nature. You are designed according to God’s plan.
Secondly, what you are like is what God is like because you are created in the image of God. Now, don’t confuse this with teaching which says we’re all gods—that is not true. But it is true that we are all created in God’s image, which means that God has traits like you and me. Part of God’s personality is just like your personality because you’re created in his image.
Please let that sink into your head, because it is very important that you understand this basic truth of Scripture. It will change your whole attitude toward who you are.
How can any of us be mistakes if each of us is individually created by a good and merciful God? How can we think we’d be better off if we were like someone else, if we believe in a God who does not make mistakes, a God who is good and loving?
Can you see how basic this is to your whole relationship with God? If you’ve been wishing you were someone else, I pray that you’ll thank God for who you are, and ask him to help you understand why you are who you are, and what wonderful and good purposes he has for you.