Back at the hotel – after a long day of handing out business cards and vying for strangers’ attention – my colleague took a sip from his cocktail, leaned over to me and said, “You know what would make you a badass?”

Before I could respond, he answered his question, “A business card with no title.”

I laughed…and then thought it was brilliant.

A blank title forces others to determine for themselves whether I’m important, and have something to offer, or just a dupe who’s trying too hard. There’s something badass about being you and not what some capricious title says you are. It’s freeing.

And freedom breeds confidence. There’s an air about confident people that we admire and look up to.

I’m reminded of an article by Dharmesh Shah (founder and CTO of HubSpot), 9 Qualities of Truly Confident People. You can access it here and I highly recommend you read it. I want to highlight his 9 points and expound on how the gospel works itself into the life of the truly confident believer.

9 Qualities of Truly Confident People:

 1. They take a stand not because they think they are always right … But because they are not afraid to be wrong.

Our starting place with the gospel is at the bottom. We start with the fact that we’ve failed (and continue to fail) and thus have nothing more to lose. Left on our own we live in an endless cycle of defeat and will continuously hit rock bottom. But because of the gospel, we have a righteousness, apart from ourselves, that is from Christ. This frees us to dare and take risks without the fear of failure and being wrong.

 Scripture: Rom 3.11-24

 2. They listen ten times more than they speak.

Shah writes, “Bragging is a mask for insecurity. Truly confident people are quiet and unassuming.” When our security is independent of our performance – that, in Christ, we have all that we need – we are free to listen and engage others without feeling the need to be heard. We are free to ask questions without having the answers.

Scripture: 2 Peter 1.3

3. They duck the spotlight so it shines on others.

The gospel sets at the forefront, the settling glory of God. We recognize that we are but a speck in the shadow of an all-powerful, majestic King, and our fame is wrapped in his splendor. We decrease so that He may increase.

Scripture: 2 Cor. 3.18, John 3.30

 4. They freely ask for help

Shah writes, “confident people are secure enough to admit a weakness.”

We never truly understand the gospel until we recognize our weakness and perpetual tendency to screw things up. We recognize that even our best days are broken and tainted in sin. We are the first to cry out for help. It’s from a place of need that we receive the gift of the gospel.

Scripture: Luke 5.31, Matthew 5.3, James 1.5, Is. 55.1-2

 5. They think, “why not me”

When Christ calls us to himself, he leads, he equips, he accomplishes.

In other words, the gospel says, “You. Yes You. In Christ, you have everything you need to be successful. All of the resources. All of the power. All of the energy. The perseverance. The vision. The energy. You are being called to great things because you’ve been freed and commissioned by the power of one apart from you. You can’t screw it up. You have officially become a success story. So go…”

Scripture: Romans 8.28, 1 Peter 2.9, Romans 8.30, John 1.12

 6. They don’t pull down other people

The gospel sets us apart – far apart. We have been made righteous. Completely complete. We have everything we need in Christ. We have no need to drag others down to show our worth. We have no need to prove ourselves. We have no need to be recognized at the expense of others. We’ve been given life and worth beyond what we’ll ever be able to comprehend.

Scripture: Phil. 2.3-4, Romans 1.16

 7. They aren’t afraid to look silly

The gospel reveals that we’re already much more of an embarrassment than we’re even occasionally willing to recognize. That’s ok. The wild thing is that God is still crazy about us. In fact, God gave up his perfection, his flawless divinity, to become a fool, to look silly, to be laughed at and mocked – all for our reconciliation to the Father.

Scripture: Phil. 2.6-8

8. And they own their mistakes.

Like the apostle Paul, we recognize that we are the chief of sinners. We are therefore the first to confess to being wrong. There’s healing in repentance. Redemption is in our midst. We can own our mistakes.

Scripture: 1 John 1.9

9. They only seek the approval from the people who really matter

Our approval is found in the blood of Christ. He’s our substitute and has won our approval before God. And when we have God’s approval we have all we need. We’re free to run about wildly…and change the world.

Scripture: Romans 8.31

So here’s to business cards with no titles and throwing out fake ID’s with our idols. Here’s to abandoning our pursuit – of becoming prodigies of insecurities. Here’s to finding faith in one apart from us – one who satisfies and secures, rescues and restores – and freely gives new life.