Standing alone can be intimidating. It doesn’t matter your age, or even the subject or opinion you are standing for. When I have to stand against the masses, when my opinion is different than the opinions of those who surround me – it is intimidating to stay true to my belief. To stand alone.
I witnessed an example of this in a small sort of way yesterday during one of my social skills groups. The group consists of 3 third grade boys. The curriculum that I use with these guys teaches a social rule and then gives 7 explicit pieces to that rule. Each group always ends with 4 different scenarios we first read, then each kid votes on whether or not they believe the people in the scenario followed the rule correctly, and must explain their reasoning to the group.
Yesterday, in the final scenario, 2 boys were certain that the answer was “no.” The social rule had not been followed. However, 1 boy bravely, yet somewhat timidly, shared that he disagreed. As soon as he finished sharing his answer and reasoning, the other two boys began to comment about how he was wrong, and restate their supporting reasons. But heres the thing, friends, this boy was right! The majority was not. As the other two young men were trying to convince him – increasing his level of self-doubt – it really wasn’t until I stepped in and said, “I agree with ______. He used the skill the right way…”, that this young man’s body relaxed and his confidence was able to re-boost.
While this is a kid example, I am not sure that we are all that different from kids, are we? How many times have I been surrounded by colleagues, or peers and disagreed with what they were saying or doing, yet remained silent. How many times has my bravery faded? My compromise increased? How many times have I wanted or desired approval and acceptance from those around me, perhaps even more than I wanted to stand for what is true and grounded in the Word of God? Sometimes we compromise our courage in the small details of what we believe, but honestly, sometimes we remain completely silent on those things we believe with great conviction. Why? We seek approval. So whose approval should we seek? Man’s? Or God’s?
If I am seeking the approval of God, and care less about the approval of man, I can almost guarantee I will be found offensive to man. When I follow God, and the guidelines and guardrails that He sets up for His followers, I can be assured that I will not be on the same path that society – or the majority – is. That’s because God is holy. Society is not.
But here’s the thing: When we choose God’s way – the right way – while we may appear to stand alone, we really aren’t. “In His unfailing love, my God will stand with me.” (Psalm 59) You see, much like my student’s courage began to dwindle when he realized he was at odds with his peers, so we find our courage dwindling. Yet as soon as he realized he was not alone, things changed. Friend, we are not alone. When we are obedient unto Him, when we belong in His family, as His children, we no longer stand alone. Ever. God stands with us. Why? Unfailing love. He loves us too much to leave us alone.
We are called to be lights in this dark world. We are called to be set apart. Different. The great news is, as we live this out, we can trust that we will not be standing alone. In His unfailing love, my God will be standing with me.
Blessings!