Lord, Make Me Contrary by Rocky Fleming

“Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.”  1 Peter 3:9 (ESV)

“But on the contrary, …”  Have you ever known any true contrarians?  If you have you will know that conversation with them can become tiring.  It seems to be a debate of positions, and it doesn’t matter your perspective, it becomes a position that is opposed and must be defended.  I’ve known a couple of contrarians.  I was likely one of them at a time.  It showed up in my family.  So, I know the traits quite well.  I often describe the greatest example of a contrarian by my late sister’s ways.  Her need to be contrary to other people’s guidance, even loving family members, became self-destructive because she would not allow us to advise her.  Her stubbornness and cutting off loving wisdom led her to some great unhappiness in the end.  It was, for some reason, essential to her to take a stand to resist, no matter what it was, for that is what a contrarian does.  I don't think we ever figured her out.  But it has been a valuable lesson for those of us who watched her decline.  We need the wisdom and council of others, for we can’t go it alone, no matter how strong we may feel that we are.  But there is a contrarian that God wants and asks us to be.  Let’s look at it.

“But on the contrary, bless, …”  Now we see what Peter was talking about in his exhortation to be contrary.  It is to be the opposite, to do the unthinkable, to do the unexpected, to go against the normal values system of the world.  Jesus taught against the normal ways of the world when He said to His disciples to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.  Apostle Paul, a disciple of Christ, taught that we bless those who persecute us; bless and do not curse them.  When you read these instructions in basic Christian living do you see the kind of contrarian God is asking you and me to be?  He wants us to live in stark contrast to the world and its ways.  But in none of Christ’s teaching did He tell us to pull away from the world and isolate from it.  On the contrary, He wants us to make a difference in our world by the way we love Him and others and point them to Him by the way we live our lives.  Our being contrary this way is a good thing, for the people in the world have now become so damaged by the evil and ruthless behavior of others, they have forgotten what compassion and kindness looks like.  As followers of Christ, we must live contrary to the ways of the world and show them what it looks like. 

If you commit to a contrary life for Christ, it will likely be hard to identify where the change in you needs to begin first.  I know it was with me.  Trying to understand where we hold on to some resistance that needs to be released was hidden from me.  I had to ask the Spirit of God to open my heart and mind to what I didn’t see.  I believe that this is a prayer that He wants to hear and honor, if we are seriously searching for some answers.  It is a healthy response to a work that has already begun in our life, and that is why we are asking for guidance.  It is His work to help us know that something is missing, though we do not know what it is.  Going to Him and asking for His enlightenment is a right response to His work, and it is part of a bigger plan to reform us and bless us.  But, like I said, since it is hidden, it would not surprise you that it is hidden in our core identity.

What is our core identity?  Our core identity is made up of things that make us unique.  These things create our values or lack of them, our behavior, whether it is good or bad, and our talents and skills.  For sure our core identity is how we see our self.  There are a lot of influences from birth to present that shape our core identity.  Some of these influences bless us and others, and some become a hindrance within us from having good relationships.  The work of the Spirit is to go to that area of our life to reshape us to be a man or woman after His own heart.  With me, God had to go to an area in me that thrives in strife and conflict to join Him by being contrary to it.  When He tells me that He wants me to turn the other cheek to an offender, He speaks directly against that misshaped identity in me that was formed to respond quickly with my own aggression.  This is what being contrary for Christ means to me.  It is to go against most of my worldly instincts, until the instincts of Christ take over my life.  As the challenges came with trying to live contrary to my instincts, the feeling of vulnerability came.  But as I stayed the course, a feeling of victory and feeling God’s pleasure replaced my perception of vulnerability.  There are other areas that spin off from this core instinct in my life that He has and is still lovingly addressing.  It is His work to try and perfect us, though it will not be completed in this life.  This is only one example in my life for there are many.  But this has been a big one for me.

I share these personal things for one reason only, which it to encourage you that though some of you may feel alone in you own struggle with how to live in this world as a dedicated “contrary” Christian, you are not alone in your struggle.  Perhaps something is going on within you that now makes sense to you, as you may begin to understand that God is working in you to reshape you?  If that is the case, go all the way with it and consecrate yourself to Him.  Ask Him to take your life and use it as He pleases.  Ask Him to show you areas in your core identity that need to be abandoned so that you can fully embrace your new identity in Christ.  What comes from this new identity will give you the courage to turn the other cheek, or go the extra mile, or forgive and bless an enemy.  Being contrary as God’s child looks a lot like Jesus, for He was contrary as well.