Joel Osteen talks on peer pressure, breaking barriers: 'God didn't create you to be average'

Pastor Joel Osteen of Lakewood Church says people often let their environment, how they were raised, and other people's expectations of them set the limits of their lives.

While there is nothing wrong with people adapting to what's around them, Osteen says people will never live up to their full potential if they feel too complacent.

"If you take the seed of an oak tree and plant it in a two-foot pot, that oak tree will never become what it was created to be. It's not because there's something wrong with the seed, but because of the environment that it's in," he writes on his blog.

Osteen says it's so easy to fit in, go with the crowd, and be like everyone else. However, God has great things in store for His children, and He wants them to stand out, go beyond the norm, and leave a positive mark for future generations.

"God didn't create you to be average," the pastor says. "You have seeds of greatness on the inside. You're supposed to go further than the people who raised you. You're supposed to live better, be more successful, and set a new standard."

Some people are born and raised in environments where people have lots of unhealthy addictions, low self-esteem, depression or poverty. Osteen says people have no control where they will be born into, but they should never let that situation become normal for their lives.

"If you accept that as who you are, it will keep you from your destiny," he says. "Scripture talks about how we are in the world, but we are not of the world. You may be in a limited environment, but you don't have to be of it. Don't let that environment get in you."

Because God breathed His life into His children, Christians have the power, favour, talent, and ability to break out from any bad situation and rise above others. "Don't let your mind become conditioned for mediocrity. Throw off the limits and be a barrier breaker!" Osteen tells people.