The pressure to fit in

As I grow older, I have learnt that this is an age-old struggle.  whether you are 13 years old and you are trying to fit in with your peers in school or you are 25 trying to fit in your place of work. It is a struggle for every phase of life.

In Daniel 3:13-18, tell of meshack, shadrack and Abednego. 3 Hebrew boys, captives in Babylon a heathen nation, idol worshippers, and everything contradictory to the law of their God .Talk about culture shock.

I love this story; to me this is a picture of ridiculous faith in an amazingly difficult situation.  They chose to stand for what they believed. No matter the cost.

I try to imagine myself, standing before a king .Everyone is on the ground and me and my two friends are sticking out like trees and facing the possibility of being thrown into a furnace. Can you imagine what kind of faith it took to do this?

The story ends well. They are thrown into the fire and God indeed saves them. I think in life, our decisions(even the right ones) will have consequences but when we honor God, he will honor us back.

This is the kind of faith that God requires of us today. Well maybe your story is not to bow down to a molten image with the possibility of being burnt alive (yikes!). It could be as simple as choosing God over a guy or certain friends say a cigarette, a beer you name it. 

Here is an inspiring modern day story of a young woman named Elizabeth, who during her first week in campus was faced with a choice. A choice that could have caused her life to take a different path should she had chosen differently.

……………..

A thick haze of cigarette smoke hung in the air of the house and the air reeked of alcohol and strong cologne. As I squinted through the haze, trying to make out a familiar face, I found myself being squeezed through a maze of rowdy college students.

It was my first weekend in college and I had come to a party with a group of other first year girls. It didn't take long, though, for me to lose them in the crowded living room.

 I wanted to get the full college experience by exploring new situations on campus. I couldn't wait to be free of midnight curfews and the regular check-ins my parents had required. For the first time in my life I had no one to follow up on whether I was doing the "right things." No one, that is, except God. But suddenly God felt like a weight around my neck. In addition, while I didn't want to throw away my Christian values, I didn't want to feel like an outsider. Most of all, I wanted to be accepted, and I thought going to this party would help me fit in and find new friends.

Without a beer in my hand, I soon realized I looked out of place. People kept asking, "Do you want a beer?" or "Why aren't you drinking?" My response was usually a meek, "I'll get one later" or "I'm OK for now." I couldn't get myself to say I didn't drink, afraid I'd be asked why. If I told them the real reason, I'd end up being labeled the antisocial God-girl who didn't want to have fun. Therefore, to keep from having to answer any more uncomfortable questions, I grabbed a can of beer, wedged my finger under the tab and nervously pushed upward.

Click.

The can cracked open and I suddenly caught a whiff of its bitter odor. I looked quickly around at the oblivious people and then slowly brought the can toward my lips. Before I took my first swig, I heard a voice cut through the noisy crowd and loud music.

"I've never seen anyone inspect their drink so much."

I turned to see a guy standing behind me.

I gave a nervous laugh, suddenly aware of my noticeable awkwardness. "I guess I'm a beginner."

"So you're a first year."

"Is it that obvious?"

"Only because you look like you're about to drink poison."

"Have to start sometime," I said fidgeting with my can, and then saw that he was not holding one. "Where's yours?"

"Oh, it's not my thing," he said with a casual shrug.

"You don't drink?"

"Nah."

I wondered if he was serious. "But you're at a party, you're supposed to."

"Not at all. I live here, actually. And hi, I'm Kevin."

"Nice to meet you, Kevin. I am Elizabeth. … This is your house. And you don't drink?" I saw a cross necklace around his neck.

"Right. I still go out and have a good time sometimes though.” He smiled and nodded toward my beer. "Are you sure you want that?"

I did not say anything, I simply put down the can. I immediately felt relieved.

 "But I used to struggle with that frustration. It wasn't always easy for me to turn down a drink," Kevin continued

"Did you used to drink?" I asked

"I drank once in first year, just to see what it was like. But now I've seen what the other side is like, and it's not worth it.”

"But aren't you still friends with them?"

"Sure, they're my brothers, and a lot of them actually respect me for not drinking. But I have other friends outside this group who don't drink. I just had to look for them."

I paused and thought about what Kevin had just said.

 "Well, I've been looking, and I sure haven't seen many around. It seems like everyone is into the party scene."

"Not everyone is into drinking. Have you ever heard of Campus Crusade for Christ?"

"No, what is it?"

"It's a Christian outreach group on campus," he said.

"It meets every Thursday night. That's where I met people who shared my faith, but still wanted to have fun on campus."

"I'll have to check it out," I said, spotting my friends who were signaling me at the door. "Well, I think I'm going to call it a night."

"Nice meeting you," he said with a wave. "Maybe I'll see you on Thursday."

The next Thursday night I went to the meeting for Campus Crusade for Christ and I saw that I wasn't the only Christian on campus. In fact, there were hundreds of other students there. Soon I had a close group of Christian friends who shared my beliefs and supported me through tough decisions. And as I got more comfortable with my faith on campus, I started leading a Bible study for girls in first year.

I still face difficult choices. Sometimes it's about drinking alcohol, other times it may be about sex or cheating in class. Each time I have a difficult decision to make, I turn to God for guidance. As for parties, I now know I don't even have to pick up a beer can to fit in with the crowd. I want to be the kind of person that I would seek out at a party. Amidst the haze, I want to shine.

Like Elizabeth, we are all face  situations where we feel like we have to hide who we really are to fit in and not stand out. However, as believers, we are supposed to stand out.

In fact, in Matthew 5:14 Jesus says we are a city on hill.  There is no way you can hide a city on a hill it is up there, it’s all bright and everyone can see it.

 It takes courage to be different when everyone looks the same, dresses the same and talks the same.

What if we be outstanding like Kevin?  What if we decided to be like Kevin in our own little world who says no to the pressure of fitting in with the world and remains a light?

A light that someone like Elizabeth could see and emulate so she can remain the light that she really is meant to be?

I hope that this story inspires you to choose to be different and to have different values in a world that demands we be like everyone else.

HERE IS TO BEING A MISFIT!