Who You Are

I found this in Jan Karon's book-"A Continual Feast."
Kent M. Keith wrote it.

People are often unreasonable,
illogical, and self-centered.
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may
accuse you of selfish,
ulterior motives.
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will
win some false friends
and some true enemies.
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank,
people may cheat you.
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building,
someone could destroy overnight.
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness,
there may be jealousy.
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today,
people will often forget tomorrow.
Be good anyway.

Give the world the best you have,
and it may never be enough.
Give the world the best you have anyway.

You see, in the final analysis,
it is between you and God.

It was never between you
and them anyway.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sometimes we have the false notion
that if we lived right,
things would go right,
but look at Jesus' life.

He focused on hearing one voice,
and that still small voice swallowed
up the loud clamoring of the masses.

What would happen to this world
if the followers of Christ
stopped being afraid
of success or failure,
and just lived in the freedom
of being related to Christ?

This is not the same as not
caring about what others think.
It is caring about what He thinks.

Therefore, the compassion we feel
for others, because we are related to Him,
would conquer any fear or intimidation
we would normally feel in our relationships.

I want to live like this.