Embracing the Difference

 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.”

 (Matthew 5:13 ESV)

Our natural desire is to be like those around us. Our natural desire is to fit in. And any time we stand out, we feel very self-conscious.

We feel, in that moment, like all eyes are drawn to us. We feel like someone walking through the mall in a clown costume. We feel like a teenager leaving the house with a huge pimple on  his forehead.

We see this in a variety of ways. Although we insist that we’re independent and that we make our own decisions, and although we insist that we don’t merely follow the crowd, we seek to dress like everyone else. We seek to talk like everyone else. And we always seem to have the same tastes and preferences as everyone else. 

I often find it humorous that this is true even when it comes to something like our cell phones. Having an Apple product, having an Iphone, has become something of a status symbol. And if someone chooses another type of phone, they are ridiculed.

This, however, is seen in ways that are far more serious. As our faith causes us to stand out, we begin to feel self-conscious. We begin to feel different and at odds with those around us.

We, then, want to adjust everything about ourselves. We want to adjust our behavior, our speech, and our dress. We even want to adjust our beliefs and our values.

The problem with this is found in the words of Jesus, above. As we read them, we find that we’ve been made by the Lord to be distinct. We find that we have been made to stand out.

Salt has a distinct taste that sets it apart from all else. But if this distinction is lost, so too is its purpose and value. If salt loses its taste, it’s good for nothing. As Jesus points out, it’s then thrown out and trampled under foot. 

And the same, you see, is true of us. If we, as believers, lose our distinctiveness, we are good for nothing. If we are the same as those who surround us, our purpose has been lost. We’re no longer able to point the world to the Savior and to the blessing he’s made available.

It’s our distinctiveness that enables us to do so. God, after all, has made us to be holy. He’s set us apart for himself. And this is something that’s visible, that is noticeable, to those around us.