Baggy Pants

…do not be conformed to this world,

__Romans 12:2

Recently Sonja and I were ministering at a church and “what to my wondering eyes should appear” on stage was a man with baggy pants!

It made my day.

Skinny jeans and narrow straight-legged pants are currently in style for men and my wardrobe – mostly purchased a long time ago – is any thing but skinny and straight-legged.

Sonja has been gently remarking lately, “David, maybe you need to gets some new pants.”

But I hate to spend money on cloths. After all, cloths should be about covering parts of our body best not seen and for keeping us warm in cold weather and cool in hot weather.

What’s all this fuss about “being in style”?

But enough of that…

What I really want to point out is this: If you hope to make a difference you’ve got to do something different…better yet, if you want to make a lasting difference you must be different.

This is harder than you think.

We humans are prone to have a herd-mentality. We don’t like doing loner. We need approval, we need friends, we need our group, tribe, and community.

Peer pressure is real – at every age level.

But nevertheless, to make a difference requires us to do and be different. And that will require courage.

The questions is where do we get that courage?

Being difference just to be different or to be “cool” (whatever that means) is not the point. There’s no peculiar merit in being odd and peculiar. You don’t get extra points for being out-of-style (I may have to break down and get some new pants yet).

The motivation for being different that matters is that you care.

Caring enough is what will propel you to go against the majority and be different.

Caring means you get out of your comfort zone.

Caring means you are willing to be misunderstood, questioned, and criticized. It means you go against the crowd. It means you go places and do things you’ve never done before.

Caring means you step across the divide and meet people you’ve never met before. It means you’re the first…sometimes the only one to extend a helping hand.

Bottom line, caring usually requires being different.

The ONE THING for today: Making a difference requires caring enough to be different.