So often we hear the phrase “just be yourself.” In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul writes, “I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.” (1 Corinthians 9:22)
Put another way, Paul says, though I don’t have to, I have given up part of my identity, I have made myself a servant in order to save as many as I can. Earlier he says, to the Jews, I became a Jew, to those under the law, I became as one under the law, to the weak, I became weak.
This isn’t inauthentic, Paul was a Jew, he had lived under the law, he could adopt the mindset of the weak. And, He did so in order to witness.
We too are called to this humility, to surrender how we want to be seen or what is most comfortable, to save the lost. In this, we imitate our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who though He was God, became a man to save us.
Today, ask for the grace not to be yourself, but to become all things to all people. Why? That for the sake of the gospel, you may save some.
See related reflections:
- It’s a Free Country, by Raoul Roncal
- Use Me, Lord, by Brendan Murray
- Be a Conduit of God’s Flowing Grace, by Francisco Aguilar
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