Copy Cat

They say imitation is the highest form of flattery. That the person who is annoying you to no end by copying your every action is doing so because he admires you. It's true and it's a really great thing to remember when you find yourself getting irritated by people doing said imitating.

But what about the flip side? What if you're the one doing the imitating?

When I find myself trying to copy or follow someone, I have to start asking questions. For example:

Who do you want to imitate?
Usually friends.

In what do you want to copy them?
All sorts of things - relationships with siblings, when they do their math, what shoes they wear, etc.

Why do you want to do what they do?

Now this is the tricky one. Why exactly do I want to follow in their footsteps? It's often because I admire them and I want other people to admire me too. But the Bible says there's a problem with that. I wasn't made to fit into someone else's blueprint - to take the same classes, listen to the same music, or have the same job. I was made to be special and unique.

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
Genesis 1:27

I was made in the image of God. You were too. Neither of us were created to mold ourselves into someone else's image - we were given one at the very beginning.

The Creator Who made us to be like Him knows us so intimately and loves us so deeply that it shouldn't matter what people around us think or if we match what they do. He doesn't want us to try to be a carbon copy of another one of His creatures - He wants us to be ourselves.

Next time you catch yourself trying to copy someone else, think about why you're doing it. Is it because you genuinely want/need to do it or maybe because you want to be a miniature of them? You don't need to be someone's clone. Your Creator made you just as He intended.

-Kira