The Bible says “do not be conformed any longer to the patterns of the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). Transform and renew. Do not live in the world, the world of narcissism and conceit, vanity and pride. Live separately but cohesively. Be a Samaritan in a world of Levites.
A tall order for the likes of me.
I do not consider myself a nonconformist in any sense of the label. But perhaps it is something I aspire to be. By this I mean true uniqueness. Is it possible to live in a way that totally breaks the established mores, norms, and values of society? To be a true and complete entity apart from the rest of humanity? Yes, there are people who eschew the morals and boundaries of society, there are those who wear green pants with red striped shirts, there are those that listen to obscure music and call themselves nonconformist. But are they really?
In Japan, conformity is the rule. Businessmen wear business suits, girls and boys wear uniforms to school, grown women cover their mouths with their hands when they laugh. Young women and men wear trendy clothes and chat or text on the ubiquitous cell phone. But on Sunday, in Tokyo, these same women and men, in the name of nonconformity, make a statement about their identities and their existence in the safest and sanest possible way. On Sundays, on a busy downtown street, there can be seen people dressed in the most outlandish garb. Women in white bridal gowns and bright red lipstick. Men with spiked green hair and leather dog collars circling their necks. Cat costumes, clowns, and those who prefer the all black scheme. All this because of the suffocating, drowning, fading feeling of being a very small voice in an enormous choir. It must feel as if no one can hear you no matter how loud you try to sing. Better to sing off key than to blend in, unnoticed.
But this is not the type of nonconformist I strive to be. I gladly wear the same clothes, watch the same TV shows, and eat the same (comparatively) food most of my family and friends do. The nonconformity I strive for is nonconformity of the mind, the heart, the spirit. Like Jesus at the well. Martin Luther and his 98 Theses. Plato and his theory of a “round earth”. Martin Luther King on the steps of the Washington Monument.
Now, this is not to say that I am comparing myself in any way to these who have shifted the paradigms of the world. I am saying that “if I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants”. I am the first to admit that I am an extremely small voice in a very big choir. But perhaps by emulating those that came before me, I can find a way to make my voice a little louder, a little stronger.
Perhaps someday I can even sing a solo.
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