Read: 1 Samuel 8:1–9
“Appoint for us, then, a king to govern us, like other nations.” 1 Samuel 8:5
The Israelites rejected God as their king in order to be like other nations. They were tired of being different, they were fed up with being ridiculed, and they’d had enough of being “the chosen ones.” They just wanted to be like everyone else. In their desire to be like other nations, however, they discarded their identity as the people of God.
Blending in, conforming, trying to be like everyone else is a basic survival instinct. Smart children try to hide their intelligence at school so they’re not called a nerd, while others don’t speak up in class for fear of being called stupid. The well-worn middle ground is always the safest way to survive. However, God did not create you to survive; God created you to thrive. And that happens when you finally decide to be exactly who God intended you to be—as different as that may be.
How has your desire to be like everyone else pulled you away from God?
Dear God, it is my natural tendency to want to fit in. I want to blend in at work, at parties, and when I go out with friends. And yet I know You have created me for the very purpose of making a unique difference in the world. I also know that when I deny who You have created me to be, I deny You. Help me to make decisions that will allow me to be more like You…for that is my truest desire. In Your holy name, I pray. AMEN.