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Conformity Versus Conviction

by Dawn Camp  •   Oct 4, 2011  •   35 Comments  •  
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(in)courage in Hilton Head 2011

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind,
that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. ~Romans 12:2

We’ve homeschooled for eighteen years, but our oldest son attended public kindergarten and first grade. His first day wasn’t easy for me, wondering how he fared in a new environment with new people. When I picked him up, his face was troubled.

“We colored apples today and everyone made fun of mine,” he said.

“Why?” I replied—and I still remember the surprising combination of anguish and a desire to give a piece of my mind to every child in that kindergarten class (and possibly their mothers, too).

“I colored mine green instead of red.”

Somewhere along the way I started purchasing other varieties, but at that time Granny Smith apples were all we ate. In my son’s world, apples were green.

The next afternoon he beamed and told me that everyone liked his apple that day.

“Really?” I smiled, relieved.

“Yes, I colored it red,” he replied, and something inside of me shrank from the thought that on Day 2 he learned conformity.

Behavior driven by conformity is the exact opposite of conviction-driven behavior. Conformity says, “I’m acting this way because of external pressure. This is what you expect or demand of me, but I don’t necessarily believe in it or give it freely.”

Conviction-driven behavior springs from within: “I’m modeling my life on principles that I believe are true. I live this way because I’m convinced that it’s right.”

As a parent, we recognize behavior that is governed by external pressures: threat of punishment, peer pressure, etc. Sometimes it’s more difficult to identify it in ourselves.

Conformity and conviction are powerful forces. What about you? Do you feel that sometimes your behavior is influenced by a desire to conform to the expectations of others rather than by inner conviction? How does this make you feel?

October’s Desktop Wallpaper

October's Desktop Wallpaper

Don’t miss October’s desktop wallpaper! Here are direct links—with and without calendar—and as always, you can download it from the Calendar link in the navigation bar just under this blog’s header.

Small (1280px x 800px): with calendar | without calendar
Large (1680px x 1050px): with calendar | without calendar

31 Days of Real Life

31 Days of Real LifeHave you seen the 31 Days series for October that Nester started? If you want to post a 31 days series on your own blog, just pick a topic and jump right in. Add your blog’s link or click through to visit participating sites from this linky. I’m blogging 31 Days of Real Life on my blog and I’d love it if you’d join me!

By Dawn Camp, My Home Sweet Home

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