Truths From A Bathroom Stall Pt. 2

From time to time, I get the itch to do something a little on the rebellious side. I find myself wanting to break the rules, take shortcuts through the grass, and color outside the lines. My personality doesn’t scream, “LAW BREAKER”, nor does it look for trouble. Yet, those who break the rules for the right reasons inspire me.

Again, in another bathroom stall someone decided to do the rebellious thing and leave his or her own version of a well-known quote:

“Be the troublemaker you wish to see in this world.”

When I first read this I thought to myself, “why yes, bathroom graffiti, I will go pass on the act of troublemaking by participating in bathroom vandalism.” Then, I realized I am way too much of a goody-too-shoes. My second thought was about leadership and the great leaders who break the status quo for positive change.

Great change comes when ordinary people become dissatisfied and say, “NO MORE!” They begin to have a grander vision for the way things could be, and they take the risk to see that vision come to fruition.

I have a secret admiration for troublemakers because they do the things that no one else is brave enough to do. Most people don’t pursue change. Old ways require no effort. Yet, troublemakers don’t want to leave this earth with a legacy of “playing it safe.”

When Jesus was on earth, he was seen as a troublemaker because he was always doing things that took people off guard. He drove the “goody-too-shoes” religious leaders crazy because he claimed to be the law incarnate! Jesus was different and he never let anyone stop him from being what God wanted him to be—radical love on earth.

Even today, I believe God wants us to lead out of radical love. He doesn’t desire for us to be safe, but to love at all costs. So that’s what I want my legacy as a leader to be. I want to love riskily. I want to dare to dream bigger, act bigger. I want to go when I am called. I want to bend the rules when necessary. I want to love when it hurts. I want to be living life the way Jesus wants me to.

…even if it does make me a troublemaker.