Embrace the Weird

            I am weird. I have honestly learned to embrace it! I was never the top pick for anyone. I did not have boys lining up for my attention growing up. I certainly do not stand out in a crowd as the best and brightest at anything. I have always been insecure and hid myself. If you get me around the right people, I can become more outgoing, but not always my go-to. I worked at McDonald’s for years when I was younger, and I was generally ignored by most because I was the pastor’s daughter who didn’t go to parties and did not generally take part in the way they talked. I didn’t date anyone without my dad’s permission. I was not allowed to do a lot. I was weird… peculiar… As an adult, I have had similar experiences. Church is a priority, so on Sundays and Wednesdays, I am unavailable. I don’t go to the bar with coworkers to drink. I don’t swear. I just don’t partake in a lot. I kind of keep to myself. I am weird… peculiar…

Jake recently took a break from 1 Samuel to discuss a subject with Logan that he had noticed. Logan is a bit of a perfectionist. Unfortunately, that comes from both of his parents. He gets overly angry at himself if he messes anything up and usually calls himself names. This is something that bothers Jake because he sees himself when Logan does that. Jake has always been one to beat himself up for the most minor mistakes because, growing up, failure was not an option. But that is all for a different post! In this discussion, Jake took him to a few different passages in the Bible and at some point told him not to call himself weird because he is not weird. Then he stopped himself. He thought about it and said, “Well, I guess weird is okay. We are supposed to be weird.” He then mentioned that, as Christians, we are a peculiar people. Then he went back to his original point and left it there. I haven’t stopped thinking about it, though. Tonight, we were in 1 Samuel 19, and he mentioned it again. This time, he even referenced a passage in Deuteronomy! We are a peculiar people! God says we should be different. If we are not different, shouldn’t we be worried? This immediately brought the song “Different” by Micah Tyler to mind. One of Jake’s favorites. The chorus goes, “I wanna be different. I wanna be changed. 'Til all of me is gone, and all that remains is a fire so bright the whole world can see that there's something different. So come and be different in me.” These lyrics are actually pretty powerful. I know there have been times when I wasn’t different, and I am ashamed of that. I want to make sure that people can see the difference and see Christ in me… Not Kris in me… I want Christ to be my identity!

I remember hearing lessons like this in youth group. My dad always told us, “If someone is surprised when you say you are a Christian and they have known you for an amount of time, there is a problem.” As a teenager, I understood, but I never thought a lot about it. As an adult, I am seeing more and more how it applies to my life. We SHOULD be different. Christ says to be in the world but not of it… So why are so many of us wanting to be OF the world? I am grateful for this reminder that God has given, that we do need to be different.

What do people say when you tell them you are a Christian? Are they surprised, or do they know already? Are you different? In what do you find your identity? Are you willing to embrace the weird and be the peculiar people?

1 Peter 2:9 (KJV)

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;

Deuteronomy 14:2 (KJV)

For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.

Titus 2:14 (KJV)

Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

John 15:19 (KJV)

If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.