Freedom is not being whoever you want to be, but being who you were born to be

Many people in today’s culture preach that we can be whoever we want to be. They say that following your heart will make you happy. But what if who I want to be isn't necessarily good for me? What if who I want to be, isn’t who I was created to be?

As a kid, I was always pretty passionate and I thought I needed to be good at everything in order to be successful in the world. I wanted to be a master of everything and prove to the world that I could be and do anything I set my mind to…And it was SO tiring and at times, even discouraging. However, that same idea seems to be the reigning anthem of our culture today as well, and while the sentiment behind it isn’t necessarily wrong, it might end up hurting us in the long run.

Culture thinks they are empowering us by saying we can be whoever we want to be, but what if they are actually obstructing us? What if by seeing endless fish in the sea, we miss the ones that we were meant to catch?

We were all designed with a unique identity that is specific for our purpose in life. Meaning, we all have unique gifts, abilities, talents, passions, and personalities. All of our natural inclinations and desires, when funneled properly, can help us understand the person we were born to be. Once we do that, it’s actually pretty liberating.

We begin to feel true freedom because we funnel our lives through the purpose we were designed for, finally honing in on our identity. We begin to feel true joy because we realize our passions can be aligned with our purpose. We begin to lean into our strengths and build upon them, allowing ourselves to grow into the people we were born to be, rather than wasting our energy trying to achieve something we were never meant to. Something that will not be life-giving to us.

It’s also crucial to recognize that it’s not all about yourself.  It’s not just for the fact that you are happier doing the things you love and are good at. Although that isn’t a bad thing, we won’t experience freedom if we root our identity in something as flimsy as “happiness”. We have to understand that this is what God has designed me to do so I ought to do it. And when we do, we actually experience a more fulfilling life. Freedom is not being whoever you want to be, but being who you were born to be. Who God designed you to be.