Why Are We Deviants?

This is a guest post by Jeremy Anderberg. Jeremy is a senior at Drake University. He loves Jesus, reading, writing, coffee and big cities. He has a vision to change the world using the gifts and passions that God has given him. Interested in guest blogging for Deviant? Register here and fire away!

I’m in a class at Drake University called Consumer Behavior. It’s a marketing class. We were talking the other day about why people conform to their surrounding culture. The second item on our list caught my eye. It suggested that we (the consumer) fold to social pressures because we have a natural fear of deviance. I will admit that the first thing I thought of was Justin’s blog, Be Deviant. The name itself seems to suggest that we should in fact be deviating. But why? Why should we stray from our instincts?

Deviance simply means “departing from the norm”. It can be a good thing, it can be a bad thing. Older generations tend to have a negative view of deviance, while younger generations are more cynical by nature and actually respect some level of deviance much more than blind conformity (hence this blog). I tend to agree with that last part. But again, why should be striving to go against the grain?

It’s easy actually. Scripture tells us to. Romans 12:2 says “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

There’s a ton to unpack there, but I’ll keep it simple. This world has a certain pattern:

• A pattern of sex, money, celebrity worship and selfishness. Those are the obvious ones.
• There are also more subtle patterns though. Apathy, relativity, “tolerance”, laziness, fear of risk, etc. The list can go on and on.
• We generally know what these things are. It doesn’t necessarily need to be flashed in front of us.

Paul, the writer of Romans, tells us to deviate from these norms. He tells us to depart from them, and turn to the pattern of Jesus instead. He even tells us how to do it. We have to be transformed by renewing our minds. Following Jesus is a thinking lifestyle.

So, you may be asking, how do I do that? It’s interesting that this whole topic of deviance is actually leading to more questions than concrete answers. I believe that’s actually part of it. I can give you one suggestion though:

Believe that Jesus is Lord, and do what He did. If you follow His example, you will automatically renew your mind and be a deviant in the process.

Are you with me? Are you ready to be a deviant? Are you willing to look a little different than the world?