"Taking a Stand to be Different" - By Jillian Schmid

One of the things that I have struggled with in my life was this desire to fit in.  When I was in 9th and 10th grade, I always wanted to have the best clothes, hang out with the "popular" group of people, and follow every other set of guidelines that enabled me to be with the in-crowd at school.  It wasn't really until my junior year when it seemed my entire grade decided to jump on this bandwagon of thinking that drinking alcohol and partying would classify them as "cool".  It was that year that I had to make some decisions and distinguish who my real friends were.

In Romans 2:12, the Bible says "Do not conform to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of yoru mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will."  As Christians, we are called to be different.  We are living in a world that defines its own standards and values and is constantly pressuring us to conform.  God's standards for us are higher and better though!  God wants us to stand out, and for our differences to be shown through our values, actions, words, and behaviors.

Junior year was a year that brought some struggles for me with trying to figure out who my real friends were and who was going to help lift me up instead of take me down.  But in the end I believe I made the right choices.  I think our culture has such a messed up idea of what "popular" is, because I don't see drinking or partying or any of that stuff as being cool in the slightest way.  In Philippians 2:14-15, it says "Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.  Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky."  I just find it encourageing that the Bible tells us to be set apart from this culture we live in and that when we do, we will shine and God will be glorified!