When the World Judges You (and Gets It Wrong)

A post for Shadeur and you

This past week, as the 2025 NFL Draft unfolded, one name was noticeably absent from the first three rounds: Shedeur Sanders.

For months, draft analysts had speculated, celebrated, criticized, and—let’s be honest—overanalyzed every part of his game and leadership. The son of Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, some thought he’d go high. Some doubted he belonged in the discussion. When his name wasn’t called early, you could almost hear the collective rush to judgment about his future, his talent, his choices.

And it made me think:

What do you do when the world’s opinion threatens to jack up your foundation?

The Weight of Being Judged

Here’s the hard truth:

People will always judge you.

Sometimes their evaluation will be fair.

Sometimes it will be clouded by bias, jealousy, ignorance, or plain-old bad data.

Sometimes it will reveal genuine flaws that you need to face.

Other times it will say far more about them than it does about you.

But whether accurate or not, judgment hurts.

When someone says you’re not good enough, not strong enough, not worthy enough—if you’re not rooted deeply in something stronger—it can shape your future in all the wrong ways.

Competence vs. Character vs. Calling

In The Jacked Up Life, I write:

“Your failure is an event, not your identity.

The very fact that you feel broken is evidence you were made for wholeness.

Shame tells us we’re beyond repair, but grace specializes in restoration.”

The opinions of others can assess your competence (sometimes rightly).

They may even question your character (sometimes wrongly).

But they can never determine your calling.

God alone does that.

Your draft position—whether it’s in football, business, ministry, or relationships—doesn’t have the final say over your worth. It simply marks where you are today, not where you’re destined to be tomorrow.

To Shedeur (and Anyone Who Feels Overlooked)

If somehow you see this, Shedeur—this isn’t the end.

It’s not even the full story.

It’s a chapter where the Author invites you to build on a foundation that isn’t your stat line, your critics, or even your self-image. It’s the unshakable foundation of God’s grace—the only foundation strong enough to hold the weight of your gifts and the wounds of your critics.

Same goes for you, reader.

If people have labeled you, doubted you, dismissed you—it doesn’t have to define you.

If they were wrong about you—or even if they were partly right—there’s still grace enough to rebuild.

Don’t lean on revenge.

Don’t lean on bitterness.

Don’t even lean on your own pride.

Lean on grace.

Because grace will teach you not only how to rise again but how to rise better—stronger, humbler, wiser, and freer.

We all get jacked up by judgment sometimes.

But judgment doesn’t have to have the last word.

There’s a foundation stronger than opinions.

There’s a God who isn’t checking your “draft stock”—He’s already secured your worth.

Hold fast. Build well.

Your true season is still ahead.

—Michael

P.S. The Jacked Up Life releases May 1st. It’s for anyone who’s ever felt overlooked, wrecked, or ready for a rebuild.

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