Dare to Be Different
In “Castoffs,” a season 4 episode of Little House on the Prairie, Reverend Alden made a visit to Kizia, a newcomer to Walnut Grove. Kizia, lived in a space with make-believe walls and roof; and she was often scene with her pet crow sitting on top of her head. Kizia was different. Most of the community was turned off by her differences. But Reverend Alden encouraged her with his kind words, “Kizia, it’s the people who are different who move mountains.”
Perhaps you feel you are different. Maybe as a child you didn’t always fit in. Or making friends was hard so you often hung out alone. As you grew older, you began to realize that you stand out, but deep down you wish you blended in so you could simply be accepted by others for once in your life. Being different is hard.
Reverend Alden’s statement, however, has some truth in it. Being different has an upside including several benefits.
First, being different means you stand out from the crowd. At times, being like everyone else may seem to be more comfortable. But when you realize you’re born to stand out, lean into it. You will achieve more in life. How do you land a good job? By standing out from other applicants. If you have an extraordinary one-of-a-kind brain and personality that makes you think, look, and act differently, it’s time to lean into that. You never know where you’ll end up just for being different.
Second, being different makes you more interesting. While most of us love familiarity, we’re also curious. If you’re different, you have a different story to tell, different interests to share, different perspectives on things, and that makes you more interesting to others.
Third, being different can make you more creative. Being different means you have different ideas, an important part of creativity. Use your differences to inspire creativity in others. Creativity is something that others who want to remain the same just don’t have. Creative people like yourself often think up solutions that other people might not have considered.
Fourth, being different can make you kinder. Being different means that sometimes you won’t be included, which may make your life a little bumpy. But this bumpiness prods us to be gentler with others. That’s because we know firsthand that life sometimes can be hard. And it helps if folks around us are treated gently.
Fifth, being different means you are more authentic. Coming to terms with the fact that you’re a unique person allows you to become an honest, authentic person. That could be the reason you sometimes encounter resistance from other people. If you find yourself getting haters, it may be simply because they despise that you’re able to be your true self while they are still discovering themselves.
Sixth, if you are a follower of Jesus, you are different. This fact means you will think differently, act differently and relate to others differently, and have a different worldview than those who are not followers of Jesus. Living differently from the rest of the world gives you a difference-making-difference. You keep your distance from sinful desires. Remember that you are only visiting this planet, so make an effort to live above reproach. It may not always be easy, but by God’s grace you can do it.
In the Little House on the Prairie episode “Time of Change,” Charles Ingalls comforts his daughter who was just jilted by her boyfriend. “Be true to yourself,” he said, “Sometimes you have to be different.”
