Quit trying to fit in with the world. We weren’t born to fit this world’s mold. We are called to stand out and be different. Paul expressed this truth in Romans 12:2, “Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.” I really like the wording of the New Living Translation, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world.” In other words, dare to be different!
When God sent the tenth and final plague against Egypt, He told Moses, “But against none of the children of Israel shall a dog move its tongue [bark], against man or beast, that you may know that the Lord does make a difference between the Egyptians and Israel” (Ex. 11:7). The Egyptians worshipped many false gods and partook in many pagan practices. God wanted His people to believe and live differently from the heathen. If we’re going to make a difference, we have to be different. As entertainer extraordinaire, P. T. Barnum, in the movie The Greatest Showman, said, “No one ever made a difference by being like everyone else.”
Snowflakes are all different. Trillions of snowflakes falling all look the same but, if you inspect them closely, they have unique, intricate, geometric shapes. As snowflakes tumble through the air, swirling and spiraling, they each take a different path to the ground. Each snowflake falls and floats through clouds with different temperatures and moisture levels which shapes them differently. So, two snowflakes from the same cloud will have different sizes and shapes because of their different journeys to the ground. You may never find an identical pair of snowflakes even though they have similar patterns. Scientists say the chances of two snowflakes being exactly alike are almost zero.
The Bible word which conveys this idea of uniqueness is “peculiar.” It is found seven times in the King James Version (four times it refers to the nation of Israel—Ex. 19:5, Dt. 14:2; 26:18, Ps. 135:4, one time it refers to literal treasure—Ec. 2:8, and two times it is used to refer to New Covenant believers—Ti. 2:8, 1 Pt. 2:9).
The first time the word “peculiar” was used in Scripture is in Exodus 19:5. Here is the context: God delivered the children of Israel from over 400 years of slavery in Egypt and brought them to Mount Sinai to reveal Himself to them and to reveal His purpose for them as a nation. When God revealed Himself to Moses, He set a bush on fire. When God revealed Himself to the whole nation of Israel, He set a mountain on fire. When God reveals Himself to you, He’ll set you on fire with fresh zeal, a vision, and a sense of purpose. After all, “Our God is a consuming fire” (Heb. 12:29).
Then God expressed His purpose for Israel: “Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation” (Ex. 19:4-6, KJV).
The word “peculiar” in this passage doesn’t mean strange, weird, or oddball. Other versions render the phrase “a peculiar treasure unto me” this way:
- NASB—“Mine own possession among all the peoples.”
- NKJV—“A special treasure to Me above all people.”
- NIV—“Out of all nations you will be my treasured possession.”
- TLB—“You shall be my own little flock.”
The word “peculiar” means “rare, uncommon, unusual, special, distinct from others, individually unique, exclusively reserved, a purchased possession.” God wanted Israel to be different than the Egyptians, the Canaanites, and all the other pagan nations who served false gods.
A. W. Tozer was a prolific preacher and author who was saved as a teenager after hearing a street preacher on the way home from work at a tire company. The preacher said, “If you don’t know how to be saved . . . just call on God,” so he climbed up in his attic and he did. Five years later he started pastoring a storefront church in West Virginia. He served for forty-four years of ministry, pastored churches in Chicago and Toronto, and wrote over 40 books with several million in print.
I absolutely love Tozer’s quote about the uniqueness of a true Christian: “A real Christian is an odd number anyway. He feels supreme love for One whom he has never seen, talks every day to Someone he cannot see, expects to go to heaven on the virtue of Another, empties himself in order to be full, admits he’s wrong so he can be declared right, goes down in order to get up, is strongest when he is weakest, richest when he is poorest, and happiest when he feels worst. He dies so he can live, forsakes in order to have, gives away so he can keep, sees the invisible, hears the inaudible, and knows that which passes knowledge.” Now that’s what I call peculiar!
God’s plan for Israel never fully materialized due to their chronic disobedience, rebellion, idolatry, and immorality. Instead of all twelve tribes of Israel being “a nation of priests” as God intended, after the golden calf debacle, only the Tribe of Levi was assigned to the priesthood. Now, in the New Covenant, all believers (both Jews and Gentiles) are called to be God’s royal priesthood and His peculiar people (Eph. 2:11-22):
Paul called us a peculiar people: “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works” (Ti. 2:13-14, KJV).
Peter called us living stones: “You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Pt. 2:5).
God’s people are never called bricks in the Bible. Instead, we are called “living stones.” Why? What is the difference? Bricks are man-made and they are uniform (same length, width, height, shape, weight, and similar in color). Stones are God-made and they are unique or irregular (each one is different).
Peter also called us a peculiar people: “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light” (1 Pt. 2:9, KJV).
God is not in cloning business. Cookie cutter religion tries to conform us all to a certain mold. God broke the mold when He made you because He is a God of variety. Remember, unity is not uniformity and oneness is not sameness. As Abraham Lincoln said, “Every man is born an original, but sadly, most men die copies.” So, quit being a copycat. In a world full of imitators, be an original. Nobody else can be YOU! Different strokes for different folks. No two fingerprints are alike. No two snowflakes are exactly the same. Not even identical twins are truly identical (they have small, distinct genetic differences in their DNA).
Engraved on a gravestone in Boothill Cemetery in Tombstone, Arizona, is the following epitaph, “Be who you is, cuz if you be what you ain’t, you ain’t what you is.” That’s terrible grammar but you get the point. Be a voice, not just an echo. As a young preacher, I tried to imitate and emulate other preachers. I tried to copy their mannerisms, preaching style, voice inflections, even the way they waved their Bibles around. Finally, God spoke to my Spirit, “I’ve already got one of them. I need you to be the best YOU there is!” If God wanted you to be someone else, he would have made you them. When we mimic others, we sin against our own identity and sabotage what God wants to do uniquely through us.
Paul told the Corinthians directly and us indirectly, “Let each one remain in the same calling in which he was called” (1 Cor. 7:20). God has a unique calling for your life that is different from anyone else. The rarer something is (like an old coin), the more valuable it is, especially if it is one of a kind. Antiques are valuable because they are old and scarce. (So, I guess that makes me an antique then.) Limited edition items like classic cars, artwork, coins, and memorabilia are collectables that add an extra layer of value due to their rarity. But, in God’s eyes, you are not just a limited edition—you are truly one of a kind! The main question on all these TV shows like American Pickers, Pawn Stars, and Antiques Roadshow is what is some rare item worth? They call on experts and appraisers who try to estimate the value of various things. However, the bottom line is something is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it. For instance, Justin Sun, a cryptocurrency entrepreneur in Hong Kong, recently bought a piece of conceptual art consisting of a regular banana duct-taped to a wall for $6.2 million. A few days later he ate the banana and said, “It tastes much better than other bananas. Indeed, quite good.” I know, that’s crazy! But just like beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so is value.
How valuable are you? You are priceless because of what Jesus was willing to pay for you—His own blood. In 1989, a man bought a picture at a flea market in Pennsylvania for $4 because he liked the ornate frame. He didn’t care for the painting, so he removed it. Behind the canvas, he found a vintage document folded inside. It was an official copy of the Declaration of Independence (one of about twenty-five original copies known to exist) printed shortly after the thirteen colonies announced their separation from England in 1776. He later sold it at an auction for $2.4 million in 1991. Years later, it was auctioned off again for a whopping $7.4 million.
It wasn’t the frame that was valuable; it was the contents in the frame. You see, it’s not these frames (our human bodies) that are valuable; it’s the contents God has placed inside these frames. He has hidden treasures of truth, riches of salvation, His precious Holy Spirit, and His cherished anointing and grace inside these clay vessels. As Paul indicated, “We have this treasure in earthen vessels [NIV: jars of clay], that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us” (2 Cor. 4:7). We must never forget that we are a peculiar people, uniquely precious in God’s eyes. We are His prized possession, purchased with His own blood, and exclusively reserved for Him. So, quit trying to fit in; you were born to stand out. Dare to be different!