Sometimes I am half amused by social media and half annoyed.
I find it interesting how hard so many people work to control the narrative. We paint a picture of ourselves that can be about as fake as our profile picture.
Everything is wonderful. The marriage is perfect. The kids are thriving. Business is booming. We are deeply spiritual, incredibly happy, and apparently always on vacation somewhere with good lighting.
Real life has bad angles.
Abraham Lincoln was famously called “Honest Abe.” What I love about that nickname is that Lincoln didn’t give it to himself. Other people did.
There is something powerful about that.
We can write the bio, choose the picture, edit the video, and carefully curate the evidence. But character cannot be curated.
You can post about kindness. The waiter knows.
You can talk about integrity. The people who do business with you know.
You can post a Bible verse every morning. The people who live with you know.
Proverbs 22:1 says, “A good name is more desirable than great riches.”
Maybe we should spend less time controlling the narrative and more time living a life that tells its own story.
The best nicknames are the ones we never have to give ourselves.