Romans 12: 2 says, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

We live in a society where cultural norms conflict with what the Bible says. The Bible tells us not to adopt the world’s customs. When I think about being different, I think about how children of Kings, queens, and presidents should conduct themselves. There have been several headline news articles of presidents’ children embarrassing their high-profile parents due to poor choices. As children of God, we cannot participate in the things that the world is doing. The world says it’s ok to drink as much as you want until you vomit all over the place. The world says it’s ok for men to sleep with as many women as they want, The world says we can identify with whatever gender we feel like, and the list goes on. As Christ followers, we must push aside what is considered normal and return to what the Bible says. Many things that are popular today go against the word of God. Our minds have to change. We must constantly renew our minds because although we are in this world, we are not of it.

Imagine having clean clothes on and being in a filthy place. You don’t want to sit down anywhere because you don’t want to get your clean clothes dirty. Let’s say thirty minutes pass by, and your legs get tired of standing, and you see a chair with some dirt on it, and you decide to sit on the corner of the chair and maybe get a bit dirty, but your whole outfit isn’t contaminated yet. After a while, you may want to get comfortable, and you either find a couch to plop down on, or you scoot back in the chair, not caring if your outfit gets dirty or not. I know that may sound like an odd example, but I say all that to say that after a while, if you’re in a particular environment, you won’t care anymore about getting dirty. If you hang out with people who party often, you’re more likely to adopt those same customs. Although we are in this fallen world, we cannot act as the world does. If someone is unkind to us, we don’t have to show the same energy and match their energy with unkindness. I encourage you to be different and meditate on scriptures to renew your mind. Don’t take on the world’s patterns, be like God. Take on God’s character and adopt God’s way of doing things. The more we act like God and take on his chrematistics, the less we will act like the world. Be Different.