Dare to be Different

One of the steps to overcoming insecurity and becoming the person you are called to be in Christ is to have the courage to be different. Even though we are all different, we often try to be like each other and this is what causes unhappiness and discontentment. "Am I now trying to win the approval of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ." Galatians 1:10. If you are going to be a success at being completely you, you need to take a chance on not being like everyone else. But, you need to ask yourself, are you trying to please men or God? "Obey them not only to win their favour when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart." Ephesians 6:6. Being a men pleaser is one of the easiest things to do but it can make us very unhappy. When we begin to please people we will generally receive a compliment of some sort, which is okay so long as we do not derive our sense of worth from it. As believers, our sense of worth needs to be grounded not in the opinions of men, but in the love of God. We are worth something because God sent His Son to die for us. We are worth something because God loves us, not because of what everybody else thinks and says about us. We become men pleasers when we no longer do things we want to do, but what everybody else wants us want to do because we think that will gain us acceptance and approval. Jesus would not have got very far if He had worried about what people thought. "made Himself of no reputation" Philippians
2:7. Jesus did this on purpose. He felt absolutely no need to please people, only to please His Father. As followers of Christ, we are to be led by the Spirit, not controlled by people. In the same way, we should not try to control others, but allow them to be led by the Spirit, just as we are. "And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us" Ephesians 5:2. If we know that we are doing the best we know how, we should not let other people's opinions of us bother us. However, we must continue to walk in love. We can't just do what we want, when we want. We must also not allow people to manipulate and control us to the point we are never free to be who we are. "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind" Romans 12:2. Those around us continually try to get us to conform to their image. People will always try to get us to conform to their image. People will always try to get us to fit into their model, partly due to their own insecurity. It makes them feel better about what they are doing if they can get someone else to do it too. Very few people have the ability just to be who they are and let others be who they are. The world would be a pretty awesome place to be in if there was absolutely no pressure to conform and everyone could be secure in who they truly were. "See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?" Isaiah 43:19. All the great reformers in the Church, such as Martin Luther were different. They stepped out and dared to do things their own way. Many people in the Bible also did the same. What would have happened if Jesus hadn't dared to be different? Even if we decide to be different, we still need to operate in the fruit of the Spirit. We therefore must not have a sarcastic attitude. At the same time we cannot live our lives being conformed to the world, because God wants to use us. He has plans of things He wants to do through us. "While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 'Separate now for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them'." Acts 13:2. God wants to take us with all our weaknesses and inabilities and transform us, by working from the inside out, to do something powerful on this earth. The devil will use the world and it's systems to try to keep us out of God's will and out of God's best for us. The devil threatens that if we do not conform to this world then we will be rejected. If we are going to overcome insecurity then we need to success at being ourselves. We need to stop being bothered and afraid of what others think. If your focus in life is winning a popularity contest then you will miss the will of God in your life. If God calls you to step out, the world will demand that you conform. Choose God! There will probably be a period of loneliness, trials and problems. But you will come out victorious and God will be very pleased.