Be Not Conformed

Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind. (Romans 12:2)

 

We learn early in life that we are rewarded for following society’s rules and norms. We are taught to conform — to the status quo, to the opinion and behavior of others. We learn how to dress appropriately, what to say to avoid offending people, how to act, and so on. Pressure to conform to norms grow as we age, as we accept more responsibility, and as we start a family.

 

It is very easy to find comfort in the status quo but we must ask ourselves, “Is being comfortable, really our calling?” Like many people, I was raised by good parents. I was taught to be a faithful Christian, to stay out of trouble, to help the sick and the needy, and to stand up for those who are oppressed. I was taught to honor the legacies of men like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, Muhammad Ali and John Lewis, to be courageous like Rosa Parks, and to be unafraid like Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth.

 

As I look at the lives of the heroes I was taught to admire, there is one consistent thread that cannot be denied, they are all people who stood up for their convictions while challenging the status quo.

 

Jesus was arrested, persecuted, and crucified because he refused to deny that he was the Son of God.

 

Muhammad Ali was arrested, became one of the country’s most hated figures, and spent four years in court defending his commitment to true peace.

 

John Lewis was beaten on a bridge because he dared to believe that, “We the People” means all the people.

 

Rosa Parks sparked a boycott and a national movement when she was arrested because she was “tired of giving in.”

 

Harriett Tubman was a slave who could not read or write, but that did not stop her from helping hundreds of slaves find the pathway to freedom.

 

Sojourner Truth stood up at a Women’s Rights Convention, where some tried to stop her from speaking, because they were afraid that she would weaken the movement, and famously asked, “Ain't I a woman?”

 

They could have taken the path of least resistance, Jesus could have said that he was not the Messiah, and spared himself crucifixion; Muhammad Ali could have entered the war, like many men of his day and saved himself from the ridicule of his fellow countrymen; John Lewis could have heeded the warning of Governor George Wallace and refused to march; Rosa Parks could have sat at the back of the bus; Harriet Tubman could have escaped to the north and lived out the rest of her days in safety; and Sojourner Truth could have put the Women’s Rights Movement ahead of her desire to speak...But she didn’t and they didn’t. To paraphrase Martin Luther King, they were called to be people of conviction, not conformity; of moral nobility, not social respectability.  They were commanded to live differently and according to a higher loyalty. They exhibited a kind of dangerous unselfishness that made people rise up, pay attention, and change the fate of the world.

 

This world needs courageous and unselfish men and women who will stand for truth and justice no matter the cost, and no matter the sacrifice. As Martin Luther King said long ago, “This hour in history needs a dedicated circle of transformed nonconformists.  Our planet teeters on the brink of atomic annihilation; dangerous passions of pride, hatred, and selfishness are enthroned in our lives; truth lies prostrate on the rugged hills of nameless calvaries; and men do reverence before false gods of nationalism and materialism.  The saving of our world from pending doom will come, not through the complacent adjustment of the conforming majority, but through the creative maladjustment of a nonconforming minority.”

 

As we reflect on the words of King, we must heed the challenge the Apostle Paul who said, “Be not conformed to this world: but be yet transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

 

We live in a world that is uncertain, turbulent, and filled with confusion. Everywhere we look, injustice is lurking around the corner. Our country and many countries across the globe are engaged in perpetual and unending war; there are many who do not have a safe place to call home, so they seek refuge within our borders; in our own country, many are hungry, lack access to affordable healthcare, and quality education; children within our own state are being poisoned by lead in their drinking water.

 

The present state of affairs is no longer a viable option when people are being poisoned and driven out of their homes. The status quo is no longer acceptable when people are hungry and dying because of lack of care. The God I serve, our neighbors, and our friends around the globe, demand that all of us refuse to adjust, and conform to, the injustices we see across the world.

 

If change is to occur around us, it will have to begin with us. The great poet and writer Audre Lorde reminds us “the transformation of silence into language and action is an act of self-revelation, and that always seems fraught with danger.”  Being afraid is normal, but we must not let that fear drive us to silence and inaction. Though our voices may shake we must speak our convictions out loud and though our legs make quake, we must take the first steps toward change. We must not conform to make false peace and we must not advocate for a unity that is at the expense of the oppressed. Before Christ died on the cross, he commanded us to love one another. Allowing comfort in the midst of injustice is not an act of love, it is acquiescence. Love requires that we act.

Sommer Foster

Guest Blogger