Another Adam! (Guest Post by the Awesome Adam Keeton)

I have the privilege of knowing Adam Keeton though we have never officially met (it will happen!). This guy is really amazing and I love him! His thoughtfulness and genuineness are just things you cannot overlook. I told Facebook and Twitter that I was looking for someone to write a guest post for me and Adam Keeton offered. I was originally considering him anyways, but felt like putting it on Facebook. Anyways, as you can see in the post below, he will probably end up stealing my place in the blog with his abilities. (I guess it would work since he is an Adam). Anyways, asking him to write was a fantastic decision and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did! This is for you, Internet:

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“Tell us your name, major, where you are from, and something interesting about yourself,” seems to be the default statement people make when meeting someone new. I bet I have answered that question over a bazillion times in my college career in classes, small groups, church, and campus organizational meetings.

The first three I can get down easy; the last one always got me: “Tell us something interesting about yourself.” Well… um…. What do you mean by interesting? What is interesting to me may not be interesting to you. How deep should I go? Do I tell them something personal about myself? Do I risk public embarrassment? Do I play it safe and say something like, “I like to cook?” (Because I do love to cook!) How much do people want to know?

Can you see my frustration in answering that question? Some people know exactly what to say: “I was born in Africa.” “I am a certified scuba instructor.” “I have a chartreuse gorilla named Gertrude in my back yard.” I had a hard time thinking of something interesting about myself. Finally some friends had to point out some interesting stuff about me so I am ready now to answer this question:

My name is Adam Keeton and I am from Waynesville, MO. I am a 22 year-old senior studying Psychology and Philosophy and Religion as a double major at Truman State University.
Caffeine makes me sleepy. True story. It actually does make me tired. Apparently it only happens in certain people, but it does happen. If you want to know more about it, just ask some time.

Through this process of learning to answer this question, I discovered that I really did care about people’s opinions of me. As it turns out, I care too much about what people think of me. On the one hand, we should be concerned with what people think of us. If I call myself a “Christian,” then I am representing Christ. Not only that, I am representing everyone else who claims to be a Christian. What I say and do to people may make or break someone’s concept of how Christians are supposed to act. I know this phrase is cliché, but it is true: “You may be the only Jesus some people ever see.” Think about that. It is important that we really consider what we do and say around those watching us.

Sheesh! Talk about a lot of pressure! This is why I was so concerned with my image: I wanted to make people happy and I wanted people to like me. I wanted people to notice me and I wanted to impress people. Trying to impress people doesn’t get us anywhere. Jesus could have impressed everyone at anytime with His mastery of the elements (and I’m not speaking about Avatar here, I’m talking about the calming of the storm). Sometimes He did impress people, like with the whole feeing the five thousand thing. When Jesus impresses people, He does it for the glory of the Father, not to puff up Himself like I try to do.

On the one hand we should be concerned about our appearance, but on the other hand, we should not be so worked up about what we say and do that our actions become our idol. Many people do what they should do because they feel they should do it, either out of fear of rejection or because someone told them to do it. It is easy for us to get trapped into doing the right thing and forgetting why we should do the right thing. I tended to fall into this category for a while as well, making sure that everyone thought I was a SuperChristian! It turns out people can see straight through me. Jesus did not come so you could follow a set of rules; He came to give you life and that to the full. (John 10:10)

Remember that today as you go throughout your day. Keep people’s thoughts in mind, but don’t let them control you. Let God lead and He will do a great work in you.