Let’s face it – winning is fun. I know some believe that “winning isn’t everything,” but why play the game if you’re not playing to win? That’s why I love Scripture, especially The Book of Hebrews.
Hebrews 11 is about winners. It’s God’s Hall of Fame. These were ordinary people who accomplished extra ordinary achievements. They weren’t perfect. They often failed. But they all reached their goals. One of my favorite winners listed in this book of winners is Moses.
In my humble opinion, Moses was one of the greatest men in the Old Testament. He received the Ten Commandments from God, wrote the first five books of the Bible, and led the children of Israel out of captivity and slavery into the land of Egypt. Why was God able to use Moses so effectively? He understood that being yourself is one of the secrets to living an effective life.
Be Yourself
Someone once said, “why be a cheap copy when you can be a great original?” Don’t try to be somebody else. God made you for a purpose. He made you for a plan. There’s no one who can be you except you. Moses had to deal with this right off in his life. He had an identity crisis.
In Egypt, Hebrew boys were condemned to die. So when Moses was an infant his mother put him in a little boat and sent him down the Nile River to protect him. One day, the daughter of Pharaoh was taking a bath near the Nile and discovered Moses floating along the river. She interceded and decided to raise baby Moses as her own son.
Consequently, Moses had an identity crisis. He was born a Hebrew but he was raised Egyptian. He had to decide at some point in his life “Who am I?” This was quite an important choice because it would determine the rest of his life.
If he said, “I’m an Egyptian” and faked his heritage, he would live a life of ease. He would live an abundant life of wealth and riches. He was next in line to be Pharaoh. He would have fame and fortune. If he said “I am Hebrew” — he would be humiliated, kicked out of the palace, sent to live as slaves for the rest of his life.
One day Moses saw his people being badly mistreated as slaves. He knew he couldn’t remain silent and do nothing. He was a man of character and integrity. He could not quell his conscious. So he made a decision that would drastically change the next eighty years of his life.
By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. Hebrews 11:24
The word in the Greek literally means to reject, to deny, to totally disown. Moses cut himself off from a promising legacy as an Egyptian and he refused to live a lie. Instead, he wanted to do what God had created him to do.
There’s something liberating about being yourself. The quickest way to a stressful life is trying to be somebody you’re not. If you want to live an effective life, step one is to embrace life and be yourself. Tell yourself “it’s ok to be the me God created me to be.”
