Having lived for several decades now, my experience has been that not everyone sees things the way I do. How I react to that depends a lot with whom I am dealing and where I may be at any moment.

There are certain things that are most appropriate in the proper setting and not in other scenarios. For example, running around a funeral parlor playing hide and seek would not be seen as appropriate.

Having a charcoal grill set up in a movie theater would seem out of place. (Now I am getting hungry).

Anyway, you get the point.

Each of us knows what is appropriate and what is not in most settings. Culture and social interaction teaches us by example how to interact and learn how to interact in most cases. Most people do not want to stand out and be seen as rude, or inconsiderate, or (gasp) strange to others.

Fascinating then to some is that Christians are to be unlike the world. They are to stand out in a crowd.

What does that look like?

I would suggest that it is small things that add up to big things. Christians should find a way to mention godly things in conversations in a natural way. Christians should not join in when crude jokes are being made. Christians should be the one who supports their spouse when others may be saying mean things about theirs. Christians should be willing to relate how they attended worship when asked how their weekend went. Christians should dress in a way that honors God, themselves, and would not lead to others having lewd thoughts about them.

It has been said often that Christians are in the world, but not of the world. What does that mean?

Scripture tells us that Christians are to be examples of Jesus (Galatians 2:20), Christians are to live, think, and act in a manner that brings glory to God (Matthew 5:16). May all Christians seek God first above all else.

Seeking God and His approval is far more important than living to satisfy society or cultural rules. Learning what is right in His sight should be the guiding principle behind all of our actions. Please pray that more people will learn of God and His Son and be willing to be obedient to the gospel message.