Reinhold Niebuhr was an American theologian, pastor and professor. In 1928 he wrote: “It is almost impossible to be sane and Christian at the same time, and on the whole I have been more sane than Christian.”*

What honesty. Implied in his comment is, I think, the idea that genuinely following Christ will often make you feel so different that you’ll question your sanity. Or perhaps it will make people who don’t share your beliefs question whether or not you’re thinking straight.

Either way, I think we all need the occasional reminder that following Jesus will make us different. Very different. We will not look normal to people with different or opposing views.

And that’s okay. Paul’s question in Galatians 1:10 is forever on point: “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God?”

It’s a rhetorical question. We should be living to please God, not human beings. But if we’re always trying to fit in, and if we’re always trying to look impressive in the eyes of people who are dismissive of God, or who have outright rejected him, isn’t that exactly what we’re doing?

A man in our church has a T-shirt which says, ‘Stay Weird.’ I like it!

-If weird means choosing Jesus in a world that is crumbling in unbelief, then I’m in.
-If weird means being light when darkness is celebrated, then I’m in.
-If weird means loving our neighbours no matter what, then I’m in.
-If weird means standing on the word of God when the world is spinning out of control, then I’m in.

“Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God?”

Let’s choose God, even if it means being weird.

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Notes:

–*Reinhold Niebuhr, Leaves From The Notebooks of a Tamed Cynic (New York: Meridian Books, 1957), 222.

–The Up Devotional is published 5 days a week (Monday-Friday) and returns on December 4, 2023.

–Bible quotes are from the NIV.