by David Gibson<\/p>\n
Has anyone ever told you that you are different? If so, was it a compliment, a criticism, or simply an observation?<\/p>\n
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).<\/p>\n
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<\/em>” (John 15:19; see John 7:7).<\/p>\n God said of Caleb that he had “a different spirit<\/em>” (Numbers 14:24). Different from whom and in what way?<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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<\/em>” (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.<\/p>\n Being different comes at a high cost. There is a great reward for being different.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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!<\/p>\n Caleb set the pace for us to follow!<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[881,1934,572],"class_list":["post-98529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-caleb","tag-different","tag-persecution"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":86914,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-wrong-to-attend-a-different-church-after-being-baptized\/","url_meta":{"origin":98529,"position":0},"title":"Is it wrong to attend a different church after being baptized?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 1, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Greetings Brother, I want to know if it's wrong, once we're baptized, to worship at a church other than a Church of Christ. Answer: I'm puzzled. If you were baptized at a church of Christ because you realized you need to obey the Lord and you realized the church\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":32809,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-you-handle-a-bible-class-teacher-who-is-teaching-false-doctrine\/","url_meta":{"origin":98529,"position":1},"title":"How do you handle a Bible class teacher who is teaching false doctrine?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 9, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I've just read\u00a0your answer\u00a0to a person who was asking for advice because his Sunday school teacher told him that Cain was the result of Satan having sexual relations with Eve.\u00a0 You suggested that he find a different Sunday school teacher.\u00a0 However, in many churches you don't choose your\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":51905,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-tempt-or-try\/","url_meta":{"origin":98529,"position":2},"title":"Is it tempt or try?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 12, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In Matthew 4:7, it seems to say something different in two translations. The ESV: Jesus said to him, \"Again it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'\" The NKJV: Jesus said to him, \"It is written again, 'You shall not tempt the Lord\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":35500,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-got-a-chance-to-teach-some-young-adults-any-suggestions\/","url_meta":{"origin":98529,"position":3},"title":"I got a chance to teach some young adults. Any suggestions?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 25, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am going to host a Bible study in my home for my son's friends who have indicated an interest (17 to 21-year-olds).\u00a0 Any pointers, subject, etc.?\u00a0 I plan on starting out with the reliability of the Bible. Answer: At this age range, the ability to reason has kicked\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":54072,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/in-regards-to-fellowship-halls-it-seems-you-gave-two-different-answers\/","url_meta":{"origin":98529,"position":4},"title":"In regards to fellowship halls, it seems you gave two different answers","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 31, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I was reading through some of your questions and answers regarding\u00a0fellowship halls. I'm a little confused. In\u00a0one post about the subject, someone asked if they could still worship as long as they didn't attend the meal. The answer was yes and Revelation 3:4 was cited. In\u00a0a different question, someone\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":60642,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/we-are-a-different-people\/","url_meta":{"origin":98529,"position":5},"title":"We Are a Different People","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 1, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"by Eugene W. Clevenger via The Preceptor, Vol. 1, No. 6, April 1952 One of the greatest factors within the church today that is hindering the cause of Christ is a morbid fear on the part of being different. God's people in every dispensation have been different people, and members\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98529","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98529"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98529\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":98532,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98529\/revisions\/98532"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}The Man Who Stood Out<\/h2>\n
Warning and Encouragement<\/h2>\n