Individuality is one of the many gifts God has blessed
humanity with--this must be true. God couldn’t have created so many people with
different personas on accident. There is a reason for everything He does! There
is a reason for my seriousness, your comic, her outgoing personality, and the
list goes on and on!!
When I observe those in my surroundings, I notice that many
people choose to conform rather than separate. And I feel as though this choosing is often
done BLINDLY! Going along with the crowd is done the most when you notice it
the least—at least I know that is what occurs to me. The more present something
is, the more you want to catch on to it and follow the flow! The YOLO flow, the
skinny jeans flow, the “Rihanna pixie-hair cut” flow! There are simply too many
trends to discuss—ones current and those declining in popularity. I am not
writing this to necessarily bash these trends because saying YOLO for the sake
of doing so was fun and the Rihanna’s pixie hair cut indeed is a cute haircut!
I simply want to place on emphasis on what’s really going on with us: we easily
become influenced rather than influence!
Our different personalities and interests can offer
something new to the table, but only if we allow it to. Ask yourself, What is something that I enjoy doing?
Next ask yourself, Why? Do you enjoy
it because everyone around you enjoys it or do YOU yourself have fun doing it?
People assume that Christians can’t have fun and I don’t
blame anyone for thinking that way. At some point, I grew discouraged in my
faith because I was (I still am) the Christian girl who would not engage in
some of the activities my friends decided to and therefore I began to spend
more time alone. To be sane in college, I came up with the solution that I just
might have to surround myself around people with perspectives similar to the
new ones I’ve formed during my spiritual growth. Transforming into a disciple,
calls for change. Changed behavior may come with changed surroundings. I am not
too familiar with God calling us to live boring lives, but I am familiar that
we “were called to be free. But [we must] not use [our] freedom to indulge the
sinful nature” (Galatians 5:13, NIV). We don’t have to refrain from enjoying
our lives. We simply need to reflect on whether or whether not our fun keeps us
from resembling Christ.
Strive to be “the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14, NLT)
while maintaining and divulging to the rest of the world your “you-ness.”
