Taking Yourself Seriously

Posted on June 7, 2014 Updated on June 7, 2014

It is a dangerous thing to take yourself too seriously.  People who take themselves too seriously often come off as arrogant and full-of-themselves.  Who wants to be around people like that?  But it seems that we have to take ourselves at least a little bit seriously if we, well, want to be taken seriously at all, right?

I made an interesting discovery about myself recently; that out of a danger of being seen as a failure, I will minimize the seriousness of myself and what I do.  After all, if what I do is not that serious or that consequential, it is impossible to fail at it.  It’s impossible to let people down.  It’s impossible to be in the wrong.  Impossible to have to take it, or myself too seriously.

At it’s core, you could say that this is a classic ‘fear of man’ case.  Fear of man is crippling to any form of work and will plague a ministry’s effectiveness.  In order to be effective at anything in life, you must be willing to be bold, because you see how important and consequential the thing you are doing is.  Mediocrity is easy, but it is the enemy of effiectiveness.

This week, I have been reading “The Conviction to Lead” by Al Mohler and realized that I need to take what I do seriously; no matter what it is.  I should be so convicted about what I am doing and the message that I have that I am willing to do whatever it takes to ensure effectiveness.  If I do not see value in what I do, it’s time to go elsewhere.  In ministry this is 10x more true.  Mohler says that conviction is what drives the leader.  Are you convicted about what you do?  Do you think it is important and consequential?  If not, you either need to rediscover the importance of what you do or move on.

All that to say: don’t take yourself too seriously.  Don’t worry about what others say about you.  Take your work seriously, for you are doing it for God.  Take the Gospel seriously, for people are lost without it.  Seek to advance the mission of whatever it is you are doing.  It matters.

What about you, have you had any similar experiences?