Self Promotion

Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, blogs. The things that are available to us these days to keep us connected, to share our thoughts, and to promote ourselves. Now don't get me wrong. I participate in each one of these to one degree or another. It's just that there are times when I'm more keenly aware of the purpose of these services to feed our need for attention. 

I've never considered myself what I call a "HEY, LOOK AT ME" person. That personality is exactly the kind that gets under my skin quicker than any. You know the type. I don't want to draw attention to a beer commercial, but if you've seen the ones with the "Too Light, Too Heavy" campaign, you might now what I'm talking about. They're pretty funny. One such ad compares a guy arriving through a gate at a an outdoor barbeque party and meekly saying, "hey everybody." Of course, no one notices. This is then juxtaposed with his "too heavy" arrival as a giant monster truck, with a giant papier mache head in his image on top, mows down the entire fence. Then, a twenty foot "tongue" unrolls from the mouth like a red carpet as the body of the truck lifts, and the man emerges from inside the monstrosity shouting, "HEY EVERYBODY! WOOOOOO!"

Yeah, I'm definitely not one of those guys. I live in kind of a world of dichotomy. On one hand, I'm introverted and hate attention, and on the other hand, I sing publicly and write out my private thoughts and experiences on ye olde world wide web. 

Yeah. I know.

I have become a bit more comfortable in "promoting" my blog posts. It wasn't easy. It's against my nature. But a passion of mine is encouraging and inspiring people to pursue their goals and dreams. When I write, it's equal parts self discovery and hope that someone will be able to relate and find encouragement. I do not write to draw attention to myself. I have received so many wonderfully encouraging comments about my writing, for which I'm humbled and blessed. But I never want to be guilty of doing this for the atta boys. I want to draw attention to the Giver of gifts. I want to illuminate that we all have an innate desire to succeed in life. But success isn't measured by the square footage of your home and the Blue Book value of your cars. 

In my life, I have defined success as doing my best to promote God with the gifts He has given me. Those gifts don't always come in the form of singing or writing. In fact, they make up an extremely minimal percentage of my life's activity. Among my greatest gifts were the parents who raised me, and the country in which I was raised. I am a reflection of these gifts, and I'm profoundly grateful. The fact that I am free to write these words without fear that my door will be broken down for violating some decree by a maniacal dictator is something many in today's world cannot enjoy. 

With all this being said, let it be understood that I never want to be guilty of self promotion. I never want to be guilty of abandoning the message of hope and encouragement, and stray into the murky and lifeless waters of drawing attention to myself. We all possess talents and abilities in greater measure than the average person. God delights in giving gifts to us. I'm blessed that among the gifts He has given me, I have received compliments. I'm human, after all. You have encouraged me to keep doing what I do. You've encouraged me to push through the obstacles and difficulties. I pray that in some way, I reciprocate not only what God has given me, but what you have given me.