Are You That Kind Of Person?

I’m not that kind of person.

It’s a way to create boundaries and define ourselves.

I’m not the kind of person who abuses alcohol.

I’m not the kind of person who skydives.

When someone says or thinks I’m not that kind of person, he creates a box. I’m in this box with others like me. We don’t do that.

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I’ve watched this process play out in a way that, honestly, breaks my heart.

Someone walks up to our FRONT RANGE FREEDOM TOUR table. There’s a smile, but what separates this person is something in her eyes, something that says I wonder if I could do this or This kind of commitment would really matter. It’s curiosity and fascination and perhaps the glint of a dream.

We talk and I can hear the excitement and wonder. Never done anything like this before but I believe in this cause and I want to serve and this is a great opportunity… 

And then it happens. He doesn’t say the words, but it’s clear and I can see it and I want to scream NO!

He’s thinking I’m not the kind of person who does this kind of thing.

I don’t take that kind of risk. I don’t commit to the training. I don’t tell people about kids rescued from sex trafficking and ask for their support.

And she says she’ll think about it, but as she walks away I have this sad sense that her thoughts will be about how she’s not the kind of person who does this sort of thing.

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I certainly can’t draw anyone else’s boundaries, but I can’t help wondering how many dreams are quashed by I’m not that kind of person.

A few years ago I was a guy in a wheelchair who taught math in a public school classroom. I wasn’t the kind of person who wrote a book or rode a handcycle 1500 miles from Lake Itasca, Minnesota to New Orleans.

I didn’t change that narrative–Jesus did. He offered a simple invitation. “Take courage. I am. Don’t be afraid.” (Matthew 14:27) It was an invitation to walk with Him and follow a dream.

His invitation slowly reshaped the boundaries and altered the nature of the box. There was a bit less “I’m not the kind of person who…”

Instead, I began thinking in different, more positive terms.

I’m the kind of person who can write.

I’m the kind of person who can inspire.

I’m the kind of person who can take a risk and trust God…at least sometimes.

See the difference? It’s about what you CAN do, not what you can’t. It’s about ability rather than disability, possibility instead of impossibility.

It’s about what God designed us to be instead of what He designed us not to be.

What kind of person are you?

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