Own Thing

It is one thing to do your own thing and altogether another thing to be you own person.

In today’s world we love to say make it your own or do your own thing.  The words sound so crisp, so invigorating and downright inspiring.  On a whole, our entire society has fallen for the idea of doing our own thing and the freedom it brings. 

With that in mind, the other week I was reading an article about a new fad.  It was about how some people, mostly women, enjoy wearing yoga pants as a fashion statement, but never attend a yoga class in them.  Claiming they are so comfortable they want to wear them all the time and not what they were designed for, which is to do yoga in them.   Even buying them at ninety bucks a pop at some stores literally making it their own thing.

If the truth be told, many of us make things are own.  Some people smoke a cigarette after they workout.  Some people wear wool winter hats in the summer. Some even go shirtless at sporting events when the temperature is below freezing.  Some wear black socks with shorts. Some wear hiking boots and flannel shirts and never go hiking.  The list goes on and on.

However, if I were to get introspective, I do odd things as well.

For instance, since I don’t go to bed early enough I make it my own and drink excessive amounts of coffee in the morning in order to stay alert. 

If I have a bad day I eat chocolate instead of exercising, yet both relieve stress, one in a healthy way and one not. 

Every day I compulsively carry a pen in my pocket, just in case I or someone else might need one.  This occasionally results in disaster when the pen is forgotten and goes through the washer and the dryer leaving a mess behind. 

The same compulsion applies with tissues during the winter which results in a mess throughout the wash looking much like a spider web.

Often, I don’t take the time to comb my hair choosing rather to wear a baseball hat. 

Sometimes sadly, I would rather watch sports than take the time instead to hear from God.  Can’t believe I said that, but it’s true. Heaven help me I’m a mess. 

It is my own belief that doing our own thing is a culmination of little habits we have grown accustomed to performing over a period of time.  These little actions then become a very part of the fabric of our lives. 

However, in turn, we should be careful not to allow our habits to replace our need to trust God with everything.  When left to our own devices the result is always disappointment and failure.  This makes sense since Proverbs speaks against this doing your own thing kind of mindset: “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death”.

With that being said, I believe it should be our goal in life to be well pleasing to God.  Now, that is something to strive for, rather than just trying to make myself happy and do my own thing.

When you do your own thing you may get what you want, but in the end not what you need.

Swavel