As some of you may have heard on my most recent podcast episode, I've been struggling a bit being honest with you guys. And this was truly made clear to me through an experience that I had a few weeks ago. So before I come out, let me start with a story.
I was scrolling through my instagram DM's the other day when I came across a message from a casting agent in LA. I had to do a double take to make sure this was real. A casting agent? Messaging ME? No way. As some of you may or may not be able to tell, I've always been a fan of entertainment and would LOVE to be a public figure of some sorts, so this was like a dream come true for me. A casting agent was seriously asking ME if I wanted to be interviewed for a new reality TV show?? That would be airing on Fox!?? Now, as excited as I was I was also a bit weary. Why was she reaching out through Instagram DM and not something more professional, like an email? Was she real? Is this a prank? I messaged back asking for more information but not without expressing that I was absolutely interested. She then explained to me that the show was going to be based on real life couples, and that they were going to fly us out to an island for 5-6 weeks with a ton of different relationship psychologists to figure out why were not taking the next step as a couple (marriage). I asked her if I was going to be paired with some random guy or if she wanted to interview both me and my boyfriend, and she did want the both of us! Sounds super exciting so far. I went ahead and scheduled a phone interview to see if we would be a good fit, and also to see if I could read into her a bit more to see if this was seriously legit. Once we got on the phone, it became clear to me that this really WAS legit. I asked her a lot of questions, all of which she had an answer for, including how long she had worked for the company, where the company was based, dates for the show etc. When the interview finally turned to me, I began telling her about myself with "Well my name is Grace Walker and I'm 19-" and she cut me off there. "Oh no! I didn't realize your age. Unfortunately we can only cast people 21+ for the show." My heart DROPPED. After we hung up the phone, I was utterly disappointed and upset. My ONE CHANCE to fame, and it was gone because I'm a little baby. What if I hadn't told her my age and just told her how cool I was first, maybe the age could've been overlooked? Ugh. Why did I have to tell her? It was then that reality set in.
My pride was taking ahold of my conscience. Let's analyze this situation for a second. What if I HAD been casted for the show? Well, Nick and I are both Christian, and very strong in our beliefs, one of which is that sex is only for marriage. But this show was going to be sending us off to an island together, probably to be staying in the same room, for 6 weeks. That would have violated our beliefs, right? These shows are also very drama centered, and would probably have caused tension between Nick and I, which isn't what we wanted. And additionally, as you could probably tell, even the THOUGHT of being on a reality TV show prompted my pridefulness. Pride is a sin, as well.
But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” James 4:6
So right off the bat, this probably was NOT the best opportunity for me. As cool as it would be to have a platform, my entire goal is to be a positive influence to others. To be DIFFERENT from the culture. Beat the Culture, DUH! And that means putting Christ before myself, making a God-centered platform, and NOT doing it for self glorification. And this would be very opposite of that goal. Now that my conscience had finally taken ahold of my excitement, I was actually relieved that this opportunity was snagged from under me. If the Lord wants me to have a platform, it absolutely wouldn't be a platform like that.
When I created this platform, I was pretty convinced that I wanted to be the next Dave Ramsey. And that's still partially true, I love what Ramsey Solutions stands for and have very similar intentions, but my motives have been changing along the way.
This platform is not about me. Bringing attention to Grace Walker is not the sole purpose, although it may have felt like that at the beginning. The real reason I started this platform is for YOU guys. To give you a positive influence in a world full of negativity, evil, and darkness. I want to see each and every one of you succeed, and encourage and educate you to do so. Whether that be personal finance, career building, goal setting, etc. But as I've started this platform, I've continued to grow stronger in my faith. I do struggle with my own pride, it's a constant battle with sin that I face everyday. But thankfully, the Lord has been convicting me more and more, showing me my own sin, and equipping me with the means to fight it. Ultimately, I realized that this platform is about you more than myself but, even above that, this platform is about Christ. I want to make my content more christ centered, and not promote the toxic culture of self love (yes, I said it) but rather promote that you can do all things THROUGH Christ (See Philippians 4:13).
That being said, I need to make some changes to what I've been doing. I need to be honest with you guys about my true intentions, and where I want to go from here.
So here it is, loud and clear.
I am coming out... a Christian conservative.
A hard thing to be upfront about these days, thanks culture!! But it looks like the secret's out! And although you were all pretty aware of my faith, I don't think I have been honest about how strong it truly is. And as Christians we are CALLED to be the salt of the earth, light of the world (See Mathew 5:13-20), meaning to stand out and be transparent with our faith. Beat the Culture is about being different from the world. Different from the culture. It's about standing up for your beliefs, thinking for yourself, and being a leader, not a follower.
It is unfair to you guys that I have been being a hypocrite. For how could the girl behind "Beat the Culture" be desiring to FOLLOW the culture and be a people pleaser?? VERY hypocritical. But that is why I've been doing a lot of thinking, a lot of prayer, and meeting with the wonderful people in my life who hold me accountable. From now on, I am going to be transparent with my beliefs, and make my content truly reflect my mission:
Our Purpose Statement: "We bring to light biblically based principals on all areas of life, aim to educate & encourage people of all kinds to be successful their own way and stop living to please society... but rather BEAT the culture."
I hope that even now that you know my personal beliefs (and I will only continue to make them more clear) that you all continue to listen and read as I grow this platform. I'm sure I will make plenty more mistakes along the way, but now that I've "come out" and expressed my true self and true motives, I hope that even YOU as my audience will be here to hold me accountable if something ever seems "off" with my message. I want to continue to bring value to you all, help educate and encourage you to be successful and to think for yourself.
I am so thankful for you all. Let's keep on beating the culture with no hold backs! Next week, we start season 2 off with a BANG! And I am EXCITED!
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