There’s a growing craze on the internet this days. Its creator is a website called Zimbio, and chances are, even if you haven’t heard of it, you’ve seen its work on your facebook newsfeed. Zimbio makes the “Which Character of ________ Are You?” quizzes. You know the ones.
Which Disney Villain Are You?
Which Star Trek Character Are You?
Which Toy Story Character Are You?
Which Big Bang Theory Character Are You?
Which Saved By the Bell Character Are You?
And my personal favorite, “What Disney Princess Are You?”
Daily folks are taking these quizzes and proudly posting their results for the world to see. And let me say first, I appreciate how fun they are and this is a judgment free zone. But that said, I wonder if our having fun can’t sometimes get a little carried away. I wonder if the quiz we took because it had Lord of the Rings in the title (and who wouldn’t take a quiz with Lord of the Rings in the title, right?) might too easily feed a nasty hobbit (pun intended) we all share—our habit of wanting to be someone else. The Bible has a word for this. It’s called “covet,” and it’s such a big deal 2 of the 10 commandments talk about it.
You see, the truth is our innate ability to covet runs so deep we can even do it to fictional characters with quizzes, and real life is pretty much the same. We spend our time wanting our neighbor’s job (or at least their salary), we long for their toys, or their house, or their 401k. We want our marriage to be like the Tyrells, our children to behave like the Starks, and the confidence of the Lannisters (okay, I almost took the Game of Thrones quiz). It’s true. We covet.
But do you know who God wants you to be? Yourself.
There’s a story I frequently think of when I find myself desiring to be someone else or have someone else’s talents. It’s the story of Bill Hader and Andy Sandberg on the day they auditioned for Saturday Night Live. They met in the elevator on the way to the audition. Andy had a box full of props and Bill thought to himself, “Shoot! I should’ve brought props! What was I thinking?!” Little did he know that at the exact same time Andy was looking at him thinking, “Props? Why’d I bring these props? This guy’s so good he doesn’t need anything else at all!” They finished their auditions, and they both landed the job.
They spent the elevator ride up wishing they had been like the other, but they only got the job because they were true to themselves. God doesn’t want us to take a quiz to figure out “who we are.” God knows who we are, and God calls us “wonderfully made.” What God does want is for us to leave all the coveting, the envy, the jealousy, even the fantasy behind, and start living as the children God made us to be today.