Get Off the Stage

Get Off the Stage
Lucas Pruett
Lucas Pruett

By Lucas Pruett

You know what all of us are better at then we would think we are? Being actors. It’s true. Most days we all put on a performance that is worthy of an academy award or two.

It is how we have been programmed. Each and every day, we wake up and get ready. We spend some time centering in but eventually we get dressed and get prepped for our daily performance. It is our daily performance of working hard to impress our co-workers, holding our families together, or keeping things flowing within our friend groups.

As we finish getting ready, we turn to our prop box and put on the final touches. We get out our sarcasm prop. It is the one that get’s us laughs at everything we do throughout the day. We pick up our perfectionist prop. It is the prop that makes us feel like we are impressing everybody around us. We reach down and pick up our charismatic prop that helps people be drawn to us or always intrigued by us.

After our prop selection, we are now ready to go. We are ready to get on the stage that is life and do our dance. We are synced up and ready to sing our song. We are prepared to do whatever it takes to secure the applause of the audience. This is our lives. But what if I told you these lives are fake? That the performance based system we are stuck in is not what we were designed to experience.

I know this because whenever I reach the end of the day and slip backstage then I feel hollow. After I have danced so hard and sung my best song for the audience, I feel as lonely as ever. We all take our seat and things slow down a little bit and we begin to realize that though we may have received some applause that day from our performance that nobody knows who we really are. Nobody knows the real version of us.

The on the stage version of us is not real. That is who we become when we want applause. That is who we think we should be. However, the real us, is the back stage version and that is the version of ourselves that we have really become bad at showing each other. We only want to share the highlight real version. The on the stage baller version that can do no wrong and looks more like a robot than a human.

I personally don’t think Jesus is fond of this. Jesus preached authenticity and vulnerability. He told us that to be His follower then we must be humble and serve before seeking to be served. Jesus is a lot more worried about the backstage true version of us than the on stage applause seeking version of us. Living the life of an actor is exhausting and it’s not what God designed us for. He designed us to connect and impact one another, not merely impress.

Friends, we must start being authentic. We are wearing ourselves out and it gets us nowhere. It is only through being authentic that we can truly connect with one another. Intimacy and closeness are not possible without authenticity. Please step down from the stage and begin to let those around you know the real you. Share with others your hopes and fears. Share with others your dreams and the things that are truly unique about you. Please stop only sharing with people your highlight reel and then feeling lonely later because no one knows the real you. God did not create us and design us to live to perform and gain applause. He created us to connect with Him and one another.

I’m sure in the coming weeks I will expound on this more, but for now please just get this thought in your head. It’s time for us to let those around us really know who we are. Stop performing and start connecting! If you have any thoughts or questions, then you can reach me at writingonpurpose@gmail.com. Have a great rest of your week!