Being Different

by David Gibson

Has anyone ever told you that you are different? If so, was it a compliment, a criticism, or simply an observation?

Jesus told us we should be salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16). Because light is different from darkness, and salt from its surroundings, they are useful and beneficial. When we dare to be different, we are then in a position to make a positive difference in our dark and decaying society (Philippians 2:15).

But because Christians stand out from the crowd, they are often shunned and even persecuted for it (I Peter 4:3-5). Faithful Christians are always in the minority (Matthew 7:13-14). Christians who blend in with the world are not faithful (II Timothy 4:10). “If you were of the world,” Jesus told His disciples, “the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but because I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you” (John 15:19; see John 7:7).

The Man Who Stood Out

God said of Caleb that he had “a different spirit” (Numbers 14:24). Different from whom and in what way?

Six times in three books of the Old Testament it says that Caleb followed the Lord fully (Numbers 14:22-24; 32:11-12; Deuteronomy 1:35-36; Joshua 14:8-9, 13-14). Because this is mentioned so often, obviously God does not want us to miss it. His full obedience to the Lord explains what made Caleb different.

Of the twelve spies who reported on their exploratory expedition into Canaan, only Caleb and Joshua said Israel could take the land as God directed. The others, God said, “did not follow Me fully” (Numbers 32:11). Their complete trust in God enabled Caleb and Joshua to follow the Lord fully. The others who did not trust fully did not follow fully. Because Joshua and Caleb stood firm against the naysayers, who even threatened to stone them, they hold a place of high honor in Scripture.

Warning and Encouragement

Being different comes at a high cost. There is a great reward for being different.

Some people are spiritually strong for a time, but as the years go by, they drift from their initial commitment, as Solomon and the Christians addressed in Galatians and Hebrews did.

In sharp contrast, Caleb followed the Lord fully at age 40, and at 85 he was still following the Lord fully (Joshua 14:6-14). How pleased God is with consistent, unwavering, lifelong commitment!

Caleb set the pace for us to follow!