Et Si Omnes...Ego Non

Even if all ones...not I. Oooh, strong words. Easy to say, nothing like as simple to do.

When someone says something foolish, they're foolish. When 5 people say something foolish, they're foolish five times. When 5000 people say something foolish, you're foolish.

An experiment was once conducted during the 1950's during which a group of volunteers were told to compare the lengths of three lines to a given standard line. The volunteers were then instructed to choose the wrong line with the exception of one, who was of course, the real test subject. The volunteers were then placed together in the same room with the test subject, who was placed last in a line of judges. Each of the volunteers voted for the wrong line as per instructions, but when the time came for the test subject to vote, he hesitated, and then voted along with the rest. Out of 50 people tested, 75% voted at least once against his better judgment and one of them did it 11 times out of 12.

This extraordinary, or perhaps not so extraordinary phenomenon is known as conformity, otherwise more commonly known as peer pressure. Or if you prefer more colourful expressions, monkey see monkey do. Where such a response originated I should not begin even to conjecture, but this tendency to conform is something I feel Christians need to be aware of. Its hard being the only one in step, especially when you know how often this is expected of you, and it's a problem that a lot of youths today apparently face. Say you've been accepted into a group of the coolest guys on campus/school. You're in the car with them when suddenly the driver takes out a bottle, pops a pill which you just know to be crack, and passes it around. After everyone's taken one and its your turn, what's next? I think a lot of people would take the easy way out, console themselves, "It can't hurt if I only do it once", and follow suit. Before you know it, you're out with them again and again and this time its not just one pill, you're on your 2nd, 3rd and graduating to the more hardcore drugs. Why? Because most of us are scared to say no and risk getting ostracized and becoming an outcast. We're scared of rejection; we want to be accepted, and we're willing to go to great lengths to ensure this is the case. This is only natural, but you need to ask yourself how far you are willing to go with the flow to be accepted in spite of your common sense.

And it doesn't always have to be drugs. It's a bit ironic where the one time in history when it would be a good idea to hide your belly, fashion perversely dictates that you must flaunt it. 1/3 of Americans are officially obese (didn't know that did you) and the rest of the world is swelling to match. Still, there is nothing independent teenagers won't do to look like each other. The fashion for bare midriffs coming face to face with the obesity epidemic is a case study in the unfortunate consequences of the tendency to follow trends.

To sum it up, we want to look like the world, act like the world and so be accepted by the world, because the alternative is too painful to contemplate. But this is exactly not what Christians should do.

Romans 12:1-2
Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will.

The implication here being that conforming to the pattern of this world is neither holy nor pleasing to God. It is not an act of worship, it is a regress of the mind and is detrimental towards discerning God's will. How often have we sang in church about seeking God and running after him, his will being done in our lives and offering ourselves to him? It is a lie to do as much, and then go out and live like what you see in the cinema or TV.

1st Corinthians 6:19
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;

Take care how you dress, you are adorning God's temple. Maybe you'd like to get a tattoo? Have you asked God if he'd like a skull and crossbones imprinted on the place of his residence? You are not your own, for from dust you were created and to dust you will return. The pot of clay you moulded is yours. God moulded you, ergo, you are His. Quod erat demonstrandum. So when you take a life, even your own, you are stealing from God what is rightfully His. Presumably the same applies to how you treat your fellow 'jars of clay'.

So the next time you sing, take a little time to consider what you're singing. You want to be like Christ? Really???

John 15:18-19
If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as your own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.

You don't really think he meant that do you? Well, if you find some other way to interpret the verses, I'd like to hear it. Becoming more like Christ is the whole point of Christianity, and that means distancing oneself from all the negative influences of the world. So if you call yourself a Christian and indulge in anything and everything the world has to offer then you've completely missed the point. For, blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. See how diametrically opposed they are? I don't think there are any shades of grey in this matter. You're either for Christ, or for the world and either way you must thereafter be a stranger to one.

I leave it to you to decide which category conforming to the world leaves you in.