Not like the others

What sets you apart or makes you unique? What is it about you that makes you not like the others?

I don’t want to be like the others. What I mean is that I want to live authentically. There’s little that I dislike more than someone who is disingenuous or fake. A person who comes across as insincere makes me want to walk away.

Years ago, we spent 3 years in the USA as our home church went through a season of change. To help make ends meet, I decided to look for a job. This was very hard because I’ve worked as a missionary for most of my adult life. The work of church planting and setting up feeding programs is unique. To stay true to my background, I needed to do find a job that would help me help others.

The problem I had is that I didn’t know where I could fit in the hustle and bustle of the USA. What could I do? After a while of wringing my hands in indecision, I decided to study to become an insurance agent. I believed that helping people get affordable coverage would effectively combine my background of helping others and my need for work.

That was a weird time of my life.

I assumed wrong

I studied and passed the exam and was licensed pretty quickly. And I was proud of my achievement. Many people take the exam multiple times before passing. I assumed my good marks would automatically translate into good sales. My clients would know that I was knowledgeable. They would trust that I would get them the best product to suit their needs.

That’s what I assumed. My assumption was wrong. I quickly realized that being genuine in the insurance industry was a rarity that wasn’t appreciated by those over us. Lower volumes of sales meant lower profits. Agents pushed through from sale to sale to make as much as they could. That’s understandable; everyone needs to pay their bills. Those who sold fast and furious were definitely the ones assigned to the places where there were high volumes of people passing by.

Deep right field

I wasn’t good at moving fast and furious. Pushing people along before I could explain what they were purchasing wasn’t my strong suit. And I wasn’t as experienced as the others, so I played deep right field 😂. If you are familiar with softball, you understand. So these two traits of mine translated into lower income for me and for those I was working for. Where others might have sold 20 policies per day, I might have sold three. It wasn’t a pretty sight.

I made friends and a few repeat clients. When clients came my way, I took time with them. I wasn’t like the others. Needless to say, I didn’t last long 🤣. The silver lining to all of this is that I can now decipher what we are looking at when it comes to insurance.

Like I said, it was a very weird time of my life. And, it was a debacle because I was not like the others.

Hucksters can be found everywhere

Unfortunately, insincerity isn’t only found in the insurance industry. Disingenuous peddlers or hucksters can be found everywhere doing everything. It takes courage to take the road less traveled when the current of popular opinion has a scheme to make millions.

Don’t get me wrong. There’s nothing wrong with having a great income. Frankly, I could use a few extra dollars just like you. It’s a blessing to be able to pay bills and help others in the process. But sadly, not all have noble intentions and actions in their pursuits for success.

This principle holds true even for those of us who work full-time for the Kingdom. I believe there are more genuine leaders than there are insincere ones. And obviously there are those who are paid for their work. However, the few bad apples in the bunch have had a negative effect on those of us who aren’t insincere, who aren’t like the others.

Land this plane, please

I think I need to try to land this big plane. Because I feel like I’m dabbling in something that might need a lot more space to explore than a blog post. So, this first attempt of mine may serve as a little introduction on how to deal with the hucksters. Not only do we have to learn how to deal with hucksters, we also have to avoid becoming hucksters ourselves.

Remember my insurance debacle? I had an immediate reaction when agents were encouraged to push policies through quickly. It didn’t feel right to me; it felt disingenuous. Anything disingenuous is a major red flag. 🚩 Watch for it. Maybe my disingenuous barometer misreads things from time to time. However, I try to keep my opinions to myself in the event I’m wrong – which is possible. So when asked what I think about such and such a person, I really don’t know. I let God sort that out in His way, and I will follow my heart.

Overcorrecting

Perhaps the pendulum has overcorrected due to the few bad apples? Maybe so. However, the job of correcting that swing isn’t up to me. This is where we can easily fall because we set ourselves up as judges and juries. Remembering who we were helps keep us grounded.

Don’t you know that wicked people won’t inherit Gods kingdom? Stop deceiving yourselves! People who continue to commit sexual sins, who worship false gods, those who commit adultery, homosexuals, or thieves, those who are greedy or drunk, who use abusive language, or who rob people will not inherit God’s kingdom. That what some of you were! But you have been washed and made holy, and you have received God’s approval in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11a GW

I’m not talking about being down on ourselves. On the contrary, I’m talking about remembering who we were when we were without Christ. We were like the others. If we can remember where we came from, we won’t think too highly of ourselves. Jesus has made us right before Him. But before we were right, we too, were wrong. May we hold that understanding close. But God had mercy on us. Therefore, He can have mercy on others, too.