Being Different Isn’t So Bad
Welcome to the fifth entry in the Soul Sisters series! Click here for the introduction to the series.
Today’s truth:
You can be different from your peers. It’s okay.
“Peer pressure.” We hear about it all the time. To be honest, when I hear that phrase, I usually think about the pressure to buy drugs or something. It’s a cliche, so for me, it’s not very helpful. But what is helpful is the realization that the people around us really do exert a powerful influence over our lives.
Especially as a young person, being different is just so hard. You want to fit in, to be accepted, to be one of the group. Social standing almost defines your identity. So if you’re different, that must mean you’re not important, or you’re just plain weird… right?
Wrong. The thing is, Jesus tells us that as His followers, we will automatically be different from the world. In John 16:18-19, He says, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” He also says in Matthew 5:11, “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on My account.”
We’ve been talking about all these paths to walk that are going to make us different from the world around us - questioning cultural norms, submitting to our husbands (now or in the future), being modest, and finding worth in God’s opinion most of all. It can be scary to leave behind what the world says is necessary and right, and start letting that Bible on the shelf be the guide to how we live. It’s going to make us stand out; it’s going to make us look odd.
But I find great comfort in knowing that Jesus walked this road first, with much more radical results than I will ever experience. He knows what it is like to be thought strange and ridiculous by the people He cared about. He was living for His Father’s smile, not the approval of people.
And as an added note, even those little things that aren’t really part of being a Jesus follower, but just make you who you are - those are important. Don’t be so quick to give them up so others will think well of you. It doesn’t really matter in the long run.
Filed under: Christianity, Culture, Scripture on March 17th, 2008
I’m so glad we’re supposed to be different… because I have a hard time fitting in!
Wow. Anna, what a declaration of the truth! My first inclination while reading this was to think of all the girls I know that need to embrace this truth… but I cannot be deceived; I have as much need to implant this truth into my own life as anyone else.
Thank you for sharing this. I am LOVING this series! Keep going!
I used to sort of glory in my weirdness. Then I realized that wasn’t the point.
Now I’m just working on doing whatever it takes to bring GOD glory and not waiting around to see people’s reactions to an idea before I put it into practice (unless of course, its wise counsel). I definitely have a tendency I have to fight against, to be a people-pleaser.
Thanks for another excellent post.
Great thoughts! As long as, using what Kaylene wrote, you are not glorying in “weirdness,” and trying to be different in unnessesary ways that might end up ostrisizing you even from godly Christians, I think that definitely being faithful to God no matter what the cost, holding on to what makes you uniquely you, etc is so important!:)
Being different IS hard.
I went to Christian elementary school, and let’s just say that my transition to public high school was different than most. I was never the rebel, so I continued to wear dress shirts and slacks to public high school (though I did opt to wear sneakers). Between that and my beliefs there was no end of teasing and picking.
However, my mom told me that I shouldn’t be swayed by the world, that I needed to stand tall, and not let people believe they could make me do something simply by what they said. That really stuck with me and let me feel free to be me.
I think that really is the key– to focus on what God wants you to be, and not let yourself be swayed by the siren song of the world.
Wow! What a blessing your blog is. I just came across it today and have been really encouraged. I especially like your “soul sister” series. The truths are very freeing!
Thanks for spending the time to write and share.
A sister in Christ,
Kalani
P.S I look forward to your coming posts!
Peer pressure is just a modern term for the fear of man - something we all struggle with, to some extent. Thanks for the reminder, Anna, that we are called as followers of Christ to be different when people around us are wanting us to be like them.
I just wanted to thank you bfor this encouraging post. A little over a month ago my family left the church i had been at my entire life. Since then, we have visited 2 churches and have decided that neither are thr right one for us.Tomorrow we are visiting a new one, and I’m not sure how the young ladies dress, behave, etc. This was a good reminder to me that being–and dressing-differently is OK, as long as it’s pleasing to the Lord. Thanks again!