Our conversation that morning echoed so many that we had had before as I took my oldest to school. “It’s the latest trend, Mom. Everyone will be wearing it.” Words I had heard several times since he started junior high. Words that made my eyes want to roll right out of my head. But, at the same time I understood the heart they were being spoken from.

As I merged back into the school traffic, I couldn’t help, but notice that my son was correct. I passed child after child sporting clothing of one specific name brand or another. American Eagle, Hollister, Under Armour, Adidas, Nike. Clothing that I personally know is not cheap to buy. Clothing that many will likely grow out of in a short period of time. Clothing that is important to this generation of young people for one reason and one reason only. It helps them fit in.

Fitting in. We all desire it, don’t we? We long to feel accepted, loved, and to be welcomed into the crowd. We long for the approval of others and to feel as though our voice matters. But, let me ask you this. At what cost? What price do we pay to feel as though we belong? How many poor decisions have we made just to be part of the crowd?

The pull of this world is so strong, isn’t it? In the midst of our day to day, it’s easy to get pulled into the crowd. It’s easy to be drawn into the ways of this world. But, I’m reminded that as believers, the reality is that we’ve been called to be different. We have been called to be set apart. 1 Peter tells us,

“But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy (set apart) people, God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted.” – 1 Peter 2:9 (MSG)

We have been called to be different. We have been chosen and set apart to show others the difference that God has made in our own lives. We have been called to be a light in this dark world. When others look at you, do they see someone who is different? Or, do they see just another face in the crowd?

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