Let's get one thing clear right from the start... 

I don't drink coffee. 

Never have. 

Probably never will. 

I don't like the taste of coffee.

I've had many people tell me over the years that coffee is an acquired taste... "Just drink it and you'll learn to love it!"

My response: "Forget that!"

Why in the world would I subject myself to drinking something I don't even like, just so I can become hooked on something that's not even all that good for you!

And yet, oddly enough, in some strange way, I envy the coffee drinkers.

I'm not sure exactly what it is.

I suppose there's a bit of excitement in the hunt for a good cup of coffee.

But mainly, I think it's the "cool factor."

Let's face it, people carrying around a Starbucks cup look cool, right?

And what we long for is not just the coffee inside that cup but the cool factor it represents.

So much so, that even though I don't like coffee, I will go into Starbucks and order a hot chocolate (which is the drink my 4, 8 and 10 year old kids drink) just so I can carry around the cup and "be cool."

It's crazy the things we do to fit in, isn't it?

God has uniquely made each one of us to be who we are. With different tastes and different styles. And yet all of us at different points feel this pressure to be something we're not. To drink things we don't even like so that we can "be cool."

The thing is, all of us ARE cool. We're cool in our own unique way. We're cool the way God made us. We're cool in His eyes and that SHOULD be all that matters. 

He wired us to be who we are so that we can fulfill the unique purpose that he has only for us. My fear is that when we spend so much time trying to be something that we're not, we continually deny ourselves of who we are and can very quickly lose sight of who God has created us to be and the purpose he has for our lives.

Okay so maybe a cup of coffee won't lead us to an existential crisis with God and the meaning of life, but it's a small example of a much bigger issue in our lives.

We all have our Starbucks moments where we just want to fit in. If we're not careful, those Starbucks moments can start to consume and drive our lives.

What would happen if we took the same amount of energy we put into trying to fit in and be accepted, and put it into embracing who we really are and discovering who God created us to be?

What would happen if we learned to love and accept people for being themselves? What if we celebrated uniqueness instead of uniformity? 

What if we lived our lives trying to help people discover what makes them cool instead of trying to make them like us?

I think that... would be cool.

Be who God created you to be. Like the stuff you like. And don't like the stuff you don't like. Be true to yourself.... But more importantly, be true to God. Take time to discover who God has created you to be and live life to the fullest in him.

What are your Starbucks moments that tempt you to do something just for the sake of fitting in?

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