Different is usually good and making a difference is often a very commendable thing, but there’s different and then there’s different. An example of this is a recent Liberty Mutual Commercial. You’ve likely seen it. There is a guy standing on the pier with what appears to be a hot dog cart, except instead of selling hotdogs, he is selling wet teddy bears. To my mind this goes from different to “different.” They are trying to differentiate themselves from other insurance companies I suppose, but to my mind this goes beyond differentiation to downright strangeness. It’s not just different, it’s different. Were I doing the commercial, I would have made the wagon delivering a superior food, something that is so far above and beyond a hot dog that it would be beyond comparison. The reason for this is simple. A wet teddy bear is something nobody wants. Rather than showing me how they are better than their competitors, they show me something that I probably wouldn’t want. If I were going to buy insurance, I would want the best insurance possible, like a filet mignon rather than a hot dog. I’d want the filet mignon of insurance, not the wet teddy bear of insurance. There’s different and then there’s different.
Likewise, we Christians are supposed to be different. The Bible calls us a peculiar people. We are meant to stand out and we are meant to shine. What we have to be careful is that we are the right kind of different. When we live truly God honoring lives, we will stand out. Not everyone will like it, and in fact some will hate us for it, but it won’t be because we are wet teddy bears. It will be because we look like Jesus in a world that doesn’t. We need to make sure that as Christians we differentiate ourselves in positive ways, and that were not just peculiar for peculiar’s sake.
Likewise in our God-honoring work, we need to be creating the best work we can create. This is not about slapping a Jesus label on an inferior product. It’s about creating art that stands out by being the best work we can make and making that work to the glory of God. Nobody wants a wet teddy bear. What they want is people creating from their hearts and souls and offering their best to the Lord and to the people who care enough to give our work their time.
Let’s make sure we’re the right kind of different.
AMOKArts 