Dear Christian, Stop Trying to Fit Yourself Into a Template

Recently, I read an article on book cover rules when designing or getting a cover designed.

I stumbled upon an interesting quote from the writer.

“A cover template may seem like a reasonable (and affordable) solution to the difficult task of creating an effective book cover. But remember, book covers aren’t created—they’re designed.”

Now, cover designer or not—surprise! This applies to you.

Everyone’s different. Remarkably, wonderfully, and beautifully different. The only thing? Most people don’t like being different. They want to fit in with the rest of the world.

Society praises stereotypes and molds—looking, dressing, and talking like a celebrity. All around us, we’re pressured to fit in.

I remember being part of an acting company. There were varieties of personalities, age ranges, and parts in each production—but the same thing happened at every rehearsal.

All of the actors filtered into their own little groups. There was the teen girls group. The young adults group. And a bunch of others in between.

And then there were the outcasts. The (usually younger) teens left wandering around on the outskirts of the room, sitting with the company of a book or a digital device. And I was one of those.

I didn’t want to go to the girls group because I would be pressured to fit in, to talk and dress the same. Instead, I sat by myself and observed those in the groups. And young as I was, I started to notice the unsurprising truth—being part of those little groups changed those teens. They were fitting into the template of their friends' expectations.

Looking back, it’s sad that so many teens do that. And what made this whole observation sad is because so many of these teens had so much of their uniqueness God had given them to contribute to the overall production, but within their own cliques, they were all leaving that individuality at the door for the sake of fitting in.

It’s like God gives everyone a candle. And if we try to shove it under a basket for the sake of being like the rest of the candles...our light will go out.

And just like when designing book covers, templates don’t promote uniqueness. Fitting yourself in a template might look good—until you see a million other people doing the exact same thing.

God didn’t just create everyone to be the same—he designed them with variety. To be uniquely, wonderfully different.

Romans 12:6-8 says, “In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.”

This verse displays the beauty of God’s creativity—and how there are so many gifts He has instilled in us. To be different. We are not all templates, created to fit into the mold of stereotypes and change who He has created us to be.

So, in conclusion, dear Christian, don’t forget your true identity and trade it in for a cheap template just to fit in. There’s too much beauty and individuality in you to shove into a mold. God created you just the way you are for His purpose and His timing.

Now go and be the light.

That’s it for today’s blog post! Have you ever shoved yourself in a mold for the purpose of “fitting in?” I know I’ve been guilty of this exact same thing. What are your thoughts on God creating you to be unique? I’d love to hear them!