A few months ago, Joseph Habedank came to my church to perform some music and share his story. For those of you who don’t know Joseph Habedank, he’s a Christian singer and songwriter.
Joseph spoke about the pedestal that he is often placed on as a performer. When you are on a stage with bright lights shining on you, people expect certain things from you. Joseph confessed what many of us know to be true—that it’s relatively easy to put on a good face while in the light, but it’s not nearly as easy to be the same person off the stage when no one else is around. After making this honest statement, he sang his song “When the Lights Go Down.” This excerpt from the chorus hit me like a ton of bricks:
When the stage is bare,
And there’s nobody there,
Will it still be my prayer
To live the life they all think I lead?
Recently, I was in Phoenix where I had the opportunity to speak to 1,000 high school students. I thought about Joseph’s words, how it applied to my life, and I kept wrestling with this question: “Am I living the life they all think I lead?” When the rubber meets the road, am I truly practicing what I preach?
I can attest that it’s a lot easier to be bold on stage than it is in real life. However, I want to be the same off stage as I am on stage.
When I tell people to give up stability to do something significant, I want to be willing to do that.
When I tell people to invest in their employees, I need to hold myself to the same standard.
If I’m challenging someone to share their faith openly, I should be doing the same.
Benjamin Franklin explained it best: “Well done is better than well said.”
Practicing what we preach reinforces our message and is the true catalyst to lasting change and impact.
So decide today that you’ll do what you say, even when nobody’s watching.
