When you're in high school, one of the biggest struggles is trying to fit in.
No one wants to sta
nd out and be unique or different. Even the teenagers who say that they are standing out through piercings, tattoos, black clothes, etc, are actually blending into their own peer group where everyone else looks exactly like themselves. They have their own community of emo or punk kids whom they blend in with as well.I saw on the news yesterday that a reporter in his thirties went back to high school to investigate what it would be like to go back knowing all that he knew now as an adult. He said that as soon as he got back in that building, all the old insecurities he faced in high school returned. Immediately he started worrying about how he looked, what he said, etc. What is it with high school that makes everyone so concerned with fitting in and pleasing everyone around them?
Because this is perhaps the time in your life when you are tempted to blend in the most, I want to share with you 2 verses that will be vital to you as a believer in high school. In Romans 12:1-2, God tells us to do the exact opposite of our peers. We aren't to blend in. In fact, we are told clearly and explicitly not to conform to the world. Let's look a little deeper into these 2 verses.
Verse 1 starts by Paul using pretty strong language, as he uses the phrase, "I urge you, brothers." This implies the importance of the words that will follow. This is more than just a friendly suggestion to believers. He is pleading with us to listen! He next says, "in view of God's mercy." We are to follow this command while remembering God's amazing mercy toward us as believers. Because God has poured out His mercy on us sinners, the least we can do is obey His commands! He continues in verse 1 by telling believers to "offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God." Rather than using our bodies for sinfulness, we are to surrender them entirely to God. What does a living sacrifice look like? Following God with our whole being, and offering everything that we are to Him. Paul goes on to say that this is our "spiritual act of worship." Oftentimes we think of worshipping God as singing to Him in church, but it is so much more than that. This verse shows us that following Him in obedience is also a way of worshipping God.
Verse 2 starts by telling believers, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world." When everyone else in your high school is cheating on assignments, gossipping, mocking the teachers, drinking, cussing, lying, telling crude jokes, etc, you're not to conform to this worldliness. This means that if you follow this verse, your life will look radically different than the lives of those around you. If you're blending in with them, which is so tempting to do, then you're being disobedient to the Lord. You can't blend in with the world and give yourself wholeheartedly to the Lord at the same time.
Instead of comforming, you are to be "transformed by the renewing of your mind." As you follow the Lord and grow closer to Him, your life will be transformed. The more intimate you grow with the Lord through prayer and the reading of the Word, the more you will see the Holy Spirit's transformation in your life. As you grow in your walk with God and become a more mature believer, you will be able to "test and approve what God's will is--His good, pleasing and perfect will." God's will becomes more clear to you as you grow closer to Him.
Most teenagers will tell me that they want to know God's will for their lives. However, they also want to fit in with their peers. No one wants to stand out and be alone, most of all in high school. I hope you know that if you do resist the temptation to conformity in your schools, that you're not alone, even if it feels that way. The Lord is always with you! When you do resist the urge to conform and give yourself entirely to the Lord, you are pleasing Him and worshipping Him. As you follow Him and grow closer to Him, the Holy Spirit will transform and sanctify you, enabling you to discern the will of God more clearly. What an amazing passage! This is a great passage to cling to as a high schooler, and I challenge you to memorize it and hide it in your heart. Don't conform!
