Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world… (Romans 12:2a).

I know all about conforming—I teach middle school.

These poor kids.  They so very much want to belong that they will wear the silliest clothes, listen to the lousiest music, and eat the nastiest snacks, just to be like everyone else.  The irony is, they think they’re the picture of bold individualism, when in fact they are poster children for the Clone Society.

But they are children.

We are not.

Right?

Everybody wants to belong.  It’s natural. It’s normal. It’s healthy.  The danger comes from what you want to belong to.  And what you’re willing to do to fit in.  This sinful, broken world is not worth belonging to.  These lost, dying people are not fit for emulating.

Loving, yes.

Conforming to, no.

If we are going to stand for God in this place, if we’re going to reach people for Christ, we have to be willing to stick out like the proverbial sore thumb.

How do you conform to this world, Beloved?  In what areas do you go with the flow, try to fit in with the people around you?  Paul says, “Do not conform any longer…”  That means you have a choice.  You have the power to stand for God instead of falling in line.  Use it.

Be a sore thumb for Christ today, Beloved.