Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread - Proverbs 30:8

Saturday, October 5, 2013

Conformity


As I was planning for this series and writing post ideas, I realized that one thing we really need less of is conformity.

Imagine yourself in a crowded place - a sports stadium, a mall, a grocery store...or anywhere else that is  crowded with people. You will notice that most people look the same as everyone else. Every once in a while you'll see a person who looks different - maybe a little out of place - but most of the people will just blend together.

For example....you are at a college football game. Every where you look you see people dressed in the team's colors - wearing shirts with the team's logo emblazoned across the front, wearing team hats - all decked out in the name of team spirit. If you are the ONLY one not wearing green and yellow (or whatever the team's color might be), you might feel a little out of place and tempted to go out and buy a t-shirt to wear for the game.

The desire to conform to every one else or to what society tells us we need can be very strong. There are very few people I know that want to stand out and be different for the sake of being different. We want to fit in. We want to be accepted. We want to be able to relate to those around us.

Well....having less means you will have to conform less. You won't be rushing out to the mall in your spare time. Shopping will no longer be a hobby or a way to pass the time. Celebrations will be simpler and not require nearly as much planning or preparation. You won't be chauffeuring your kids all around town from one practice to the next or from one lesson to the next several nights a week.

You might not know what it means to be busy. You might not know what styles are trending this fall. You might not know what's happening to all your friends on facebook. You might feel different than everyone else.

Stop conforming to everyone else. Stop listening to the voices telling you what you need to own and do. Think and decide what's right for yourself and your family.

To see all the posts in this series, search by the label less is more or click on THIS PAGE.

3 comments:

  1. I love this one Jill! God created us all to be unique individuals, life would be so boring if we were all the same. I know we have made choices for our family that many people don't understand. And I am completely okay with that :)

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  2. This is something I really needed to read today! Thank you for this series. I have been reading them backwards, or maybe I should say from the end to the beginning. I am really thankful for this whole series, especially right before the holidays. BTW, love your pumpkins from the dishes post. Debbie from Carlock

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    1. I'm glad you are enjoying it - I enjoyed writing it. It gave me a renewed vision : )

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