Standing Apart For God

I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Romans 12:1-2

For most young princesses, fitting in is important. One test showed this. Ten students were in a classroom. In the front of the room was a chart with three lines, all with different lengths. The students were instructed to raise their hands when the teacher pointed to the longest line. This was done in several classrooms.

In each group, nine of the ten students were secretly instructed to raise their hands when the teacher pointed to the second longest line. But one student wasn’t told that. So when the nine students all raised their hands for the second longest line, the lone student had a decision to make. Should the student go along with them even though they were wrong, or should he or she be the lone person not to raise a hand? The one student would glance around at all the raised hands and, 75 percent of the time, would reluctantly raise his or her hand to avoid being left out.

Peer pressure and the desire not to be different caused the one student in each group to choose a wrong answer. The same is often true in life. You don’t want to be different, so you watch a movie with friends even though it makes you uncomfortable. You force yourself to laugh at jokes that are more rude than funny. Maybe you ignore another girl because everyone else is ignoring her, even though you think you should make her feel welcome.

Fitting in is the easy choice, but God calls his princesses to stand out. Today’s verse says not to act the way the world does, but to let God transform you into a new person—one who stands apart for God. When you do this, God will help you find the things he wants you to do with your life.

It may be hard standing on your own for God right now, but in the long run it will pay off in having the peace and joy that come from seeking to follow God.

What are some areas in which girls try to fit in? What things do they do to try to be like everyone else? List three ways you can stand apart for God, and ask him to help you be more concerned about being set apart for him than about blending in.