You know that saying that what others think of you is none of your business? I love the saying, try to tell myself that, have shared it on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest etc. Let’s be real though, I don’t listen to it. I totally care what people think about me and get my feelings hurt if somebody doesn’t like me. Can I get an amen from anybody out there? Here’s the real question though, why do I even care? I think I’m a pretty friendly enjoyable person, but there are just people out there that don’t like me. You can see it on their face, whether you’re meeting them for the first time, or have known them for years, you can literally just see it on their face how they feel about you…OR…you hear it from somebody else that someone doesn’t like you. Regardless, it musters up the same feeling when you know somebody doesn’t like you and it doesn’t feel very good.
Why do we as human beings need and want to be liked so badly? Why does it matter if your friends’ friends really don’t care for you, or the fellow cheer mom, or the lady or man on the board you serve on, or the people who sit by you at church, or the receptionist at an office you frequent? The truth is, not everybody is going to like you, and that’s okay! You are not going to be everybody’s cup of tea, not everybody even likes tea so there you go! You can doctor that cup of tea up anyway you want it, but some people simply do not like tea. So quit trying to doctor yourself up to please anybody else! We simply must tell ourselves that we may not be their cup of tea and that’s okay, move on! The next person you meet may love tea!
Here’s where we lose focus, by concentrating so hard on trying to get people to like us that are not going to be in our lives, who aren’t going to help us fulfill our purpose, who are not putting food on our table, or writing our paycheck or with us long-term. One of the main reasons I believe people may not like us could quite possibly be jealousy. If we want to be somebody else, or are jealous of what they have, sometimes, we start finding fault with that person because it makes us feel better about ourselves. Sometimes we hate people for having what we don’t, whether it’s physical, material or personality traits. I want that so it’s easy to pick that person apart because I don’t have it.
Jealousy is a dangerous thing and a dangerous place to find yourself. The Bible lists jealousy as one of the fruits of the flesh. It says in Galatians not to become conceited, provoking and envying each other. People do very dangerous things out of jealousy. Jesus was born to free us and save us and he was hated, disliked and ultimately crucified. People were jealous of him. I’m pretty sure I’ve never been crucified so I think I must have it pretty good, and, if people hated him and he was trying to show them love and mercy and die for them, it’s to be expected that people are going to sometimes hate us for no reason.
I hope we can all find peace and stop worrying so much about what others think. The saying I started with above is so spot on. It really is none of our business what people think of is. It matters that God thinks of us, it matters what those closest to us think of us, it matters that we’re being good human beings, showing love to others, and showing kindness to others. It matters what we’re doing to help others and what we’re doing to make this world a better place. Otherwise, it really doesn’t matter and we should not be prisoners to other people’s opinions of us. Let’s not get so caught up in that to where it drives us to not really live, dictates our every mood, and stops us from fulling our destiny and living with purpose.
Take a deep breath, smile at that person who doesn’t like you, and go about your business! God has a plan for your life and sometimes that can be tripped up by people! Put your blinders up and quit worrying about whether somebody likes you or not!
With love for you all!
Shauna
Shauna's Sisters 