Be Different

When looking, acting, and talking countercultural becomes familiar, it's no longer countercultural. It’s ordinary and expected. And because of this trend, it's getting harder to look different from our culture. Or might it be getting easier? Here is a word of timeless wisdom on this subject.

My son, do not walk in the way with them; hold back your foot from their paths.—Proverbs 1:15

• The term "walk" here is synonymous with the word "live."
• "Hold back" is synonymous with the word "restrain."
• "Your foot" infers "intentional and action."
• "Their paths" infers "a pattern of living."

So we could read it this way.

My son, do not live the way they live; restrain your intention and action from their patterns of living.—Vince Miller Paraphrased Version.

Being a Christian is to be different. There can be nothing more countercultural than a follower who is obedient to the teachings of Scripture and looks, acts, and talks like Jesus. Jesus instructed us to love those who hate us, give honor to the least, be last in line, and go the extra mile. But there's more. He taught us to make God the highest priority, sell everything before following Him, reorient our desires and give Him glory, pray for political leaders that He appoints, reserve sex for marriage, and avoid even a hint of immorality. Could there be any way of life more countercultural than this?

DO THIS: Be different and be a devoted follower of Jesus Christ—it's real counterculturalism.

PRAYER: God, help me in my looks, actions, and words to be different from the world today. May I be devoted enough that people will see something different in me, because of you.

JOURNAL IT: "Two things I want to do different today are..."