Excuse Me, Is that a Cat on your Shoulder?

I do not believe that you need to live your life to please other people. That is a fruitless exercise. You cannot please everyone, that is obvious. 

But there is a component of living this life that we have to interact with our fellow humans. Through that, inevitably others will form opinions of us based on what we wear, what we say, how we act, and how we speak. 

What we do conveys what we are about. 

I was thinking about this yesterday when I was sitting in a fast-food restaurant watching a young lady holding her cat. 

That's right. She was sitting there, having lunch, trying to keep her cat from crawling all over the place. 

I'm not going to go into great detail about what she looked like, but from where I was sitting, and what she was wearing, and what she was doing, I got this sense that she was somewhat rebellious. This wasn't a kitten. It was a full grown black cat that she was walking with around her neck. 

Cats are okay to use as clothing if they are alive nowadays I guess.

Dead cat pelt around neck = bad. Live cat around neck = good. 

Whatever. 

Here's what I'm saying- and this is from the pastor who wore a Seattle Seahawks jersey as his uniform for the day yesterday- if we have something about us that becomes a focal point of our life that everyone looks at, it defines who we are to them. 

The guy who wears all camouflage all the time is probably a hunter. The guy wearing the full body spandex suit is probably a bicyclist. The person who constantly talks about politics is probably into politics. You get the picture. What they are doing, or what they talk about all the time begins to define who they are. 

They are now known as "the hunter" the "bicyclist" or the "politically charged guy". 

Or "the lady with the black cat around the neck". 

All that stuff is well and good and fine and all that but here is my issue- is that what those people want to be known for? Is that what they want to be remembered for and be identified with?

In your life, is there something that you are allowing to dominate your persona? 

Step back, and think- how would most people describe me? By what am I known?

Here's the best part- you can be known by what you choose to identify with and what you choose to identify with will define who you are. 

Decide today what you want to be known by and live it out.

Even if its a 'lady with a cat around your neck'.

be blessed

pastor matt 

Posted via email from Faith and Victory Church Blog