MANUFACTURED INDIVIDUAL OR UNIQUE PERSON?

"When you base your life off the opinions of others, you slowly become a manufactured individual rather than the unique person God made you."

(Jarrod Wilson)

Copied from the following article by Ryan Dobson:

http://www.drjamesdobson.org/blogs/ryan-dobson/ryan-dobson/2014/03/21/manufactured-human-beings/?sc=FTW

Manufactured Human Beings

Have you ever driven by a factory that builds manufactured homes? They are huge–covering football fields of acreage! And if you’ve ever seen pictures of the inside of these factories, you will see hundreds of houses and parts of houses lined up down the middle of the building. They all look the same. Nearly identical.

I live in Colorado Springs which consists of housing development after housing development. When you drive down the street, you will see that there are not very many home styles represented. The paint might be a different color. The driveway might be at a slightly different angle. But for the most part, every house is the same. It gets rather boring. I can see why people were so blown away by Frank Lloyd Wright.

I thought of all these manufactured homes and subdivisions the moment I read a quote by Jarrid Wilson:

When you base your life off the opinions of others, you slowly become a manufactured individual rather than the unique person God made you.

Unfortunately, we have a lot of manufactured people in our culture and society. Sure, some of them wear different clothes, pierce metal into their bodies, or get tattoos. But at the end of the day, most people seem to share Lady Gaga’s perspective in her song Applause:

I live for the applause, applause, applause
I live for the applause-plause
Live for the applause-plause
Live for the way that you cheer and scream for me
The applause, applause, applause

The problem with living for applause is that you end up adjusting your tastes, opinions, and character to please the largest crowd of people you can attract to watch. Instead of embracing the unique identity that God made for you, you become–as Jarrid Wilson said–a manufactured individual designed to please the masses.

If you embrace your unique, God-designed identity, you will stick out. You will REALLY stick out. You will be like a home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright positioned in the middle of a trailer park. (And if you don’t know who Frank Lloyd Wright is you should look him up, seriously! He was an architect that invented an entirely new style of architecture.)

Don’t live for applause. Live for God. And become the person he created you to be.