All my life I have tried desperately to fit in, but some places I sought weren’t worthy of fitting into. Not because the place or the person was bad but simply because I didn’t belong there.
Fitting in is an issue of seeking to please people. When that is my primary goal, I won’t find satisfaction. People don’t hold the key to fulfillment.
Drawbacks of Fitting In:
- I lose myself when I’m always trying to fit in. Camouflage makes me invisible.
- I will never fit in when I’m trying to be the same as someone else. Puzzle pieces aren’t the same as the one next to them. They are complementary. Therefore, they fit.
- Sometimes even when I fit in somewhere, I lose my joy because I’m fitting in because I am living like them, not me. Joy comes when I live like I was created.
- I lose my time because it takes a lot of time to please fickle humans. The minute I please them, they’ll want something else. It’s endless and exhausting.
But when I choose God, He will show me where I truly belong. When I’m seeking His will and His ways, I will always fit in where it matters. The only one that I really need to please is God. That’s the foundation. When I strive for that, I also end up fitting in where He wants me to fit in, not where I have to contort myself in order to be liked.
I seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all those other things will be added (Matthew 6:33).
I present myself to God and get to know Him. Then, I will know better who I really am and where I belong while I’m here on earth. When I’m living for God, I can also enjoy people. That’s the order that makes sense: Love God and then love people.
Have you ever fallen into the people pleasing trap?