Be Different

 It seems to me that many people who claim to live differently are only replicas of what they see other different people doing. The LGBTQ crowd wear similar clothing and hair styles. People get ink on their bodies in order to stand out and to communicate a message blending in with all the others who sport tattoos. Some grow their hair long while others cut their hair short. People buy the latest fad clothing to blend in with the in crowd. If someone has the newest cell phone, others are quick to get one too. It is common now not just for people to have a smart phone but to also have a smart watch. 

It takes courage to be different. It takes more courage to be different and be yourself. I recall Bible college. One of my Bible professors was shocked when he saw me enrolled in his Introduction to Ministry class. He saw me as just another football player. He had no idea God placed a call on my life just months before enrolling in school and his class. I wore cheap $5 t-shirts I bought at K-Mart. Because we were not allowed to wear shorts in class, I wore the same pair of black sweat pants with the legs pulled up to my knees all week. There was nothing from the outside that identified me as a preacher. I was different. All these years later, forty to be exact, I'm still preaching. Many of my classmates fell by the wayside along the way. I just plodded along down difficult paths in obscure places. 

We took a preaching class in college. Dr. Robert Smith taught us how to outline a sermon. There was the introduction, the three main points, and the conclusion. For each point we were to explain it, illustrate it, and apply it. I floundered clumsily with that style. Like forcing a square peg in a round hole. I don't know how or exactly when it happened, but God helped me to discover my different style. Unique to me. I preach off key words and phrases. There are no three points. I've been preaching that way for several decades. It is different. One man told me it was hard to take notes. It is different but it is also what God leads me to do. 

I recall when Brenda and I were first married that I walked into a barber shop and told her and him that I was looking for the haircut for the rest of my life. Military style. High and tight. Only I never suspected I would lose most of my hair, so the haircut evolved into higher and tighter. Every two weeks like clock work. Brenda takes the number zero setting on the clippers and burrs all the hair away. I typically wear jeans, an untucked shirt, except on Sundays, and sneakers to the office. I still wear a tie on Sundays while most preachers have opted for the tieless look. I too did that for awhile, but went back to my standard dress pants, dress shirt, and tie, with dress shoes look. Dressing like that is like putting on my football uniform. When I wear that garb it is all business. 

My youngest son used me in an illustration recently in a sermon he preached. He said, "My father is a very intense man." That is part of my uniqueness. It is different. God poured an extra measure of passion inside me at creation. He put a drive in me that has not waned since childhood. He redirected that passion and drive when He saved me. In an age when people want to blend in, I don't mind marching in a parade of one. I see the world differently. I require lots of solitude with God instead of chasing the crowds and applause of men. I'm most contented when shut up with God in the secret place. 

Caleb was also different. The Bible describes him as having a different spirit about him. I am not saying we need to be odd, perverted, or strange. We should not be ashamed to be different in this world. To raise our kids differently. To be governed by a different set of priorities than most. To have clearly defined moral boundaries and convictions from which we do not stray. God made us to stand out for Him and not blend in to conceal Him. It's okay to be different and not work hard to fit in with the crowds. They are fickle. Just be different and be the person God created and intended you to be. You will not please everyone. You will please your Creator and His pleasure will last through eternity.