Inside Out

We live in a time when large numbers of people are living their lives from the outside-in. They are driven and conformed by the things occurring outside of themselves, or by the people around them. For some this is merely perceived as ‘keeping up with the Joneses.” For others it is the total loss of self-identity by allowing other people or things outside of oneself to take the place of one’s own identity.

The following are a few of examples of outside-in living. “If my friends have a snow-machine, then I need one, too.” “If other people have a Hummer, then I should be able to have one, too.” “If my friends wear designer jeans, then I must also.” When a person is living his or her life from the outside-in, then his or her identity is primarily shaped by external admired role models, or circumstances.

This is not just an individual issue, but also an organizational or corporate issue as well. One of the things that continually amazes my family is how almost every mall looks like all other malls. The original mall concept caught on, and every other mall tried to emulate the original one. Another example of corporations being shaped by the external world is that one fast food chain “super-sized” their combination meals, so then all the others “biggie-sized” or “up-sized” theirs. Everyone is mimicking everyone else. Churches today are doing the same thing. They have grabbed on to one or two successful churches and then tried to emulate those in order to become “successful” or “cutting edge” churches. All of these are examples of organizations or corporations living from the outside-in.

Please realize that I am not attempting to “judge” this phenomenon, nor the people or organizations that have gotten caught up in it, but rather I am just trying to make us think about it. I was a teenager in the so-called “hippie” era. When I was in high-school I played drums for numerous bands, wore Beatle-boots and stove-pipe pants. To some degree, I was living my life from the outside-in. The truth is that we are all continually influenced to a very large degree by our external world and cultural environment. The key is to not let external influence cause us to lose our own identity and purpose. Identical clones are rarely appealing, nor needed.

So what is an alternative choice to living outside-in? It is living inside-out. In Romans 12:2 (N.A.S.B) we read: “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” The word “conformed” means “squeezed into a mold.” Don’t let the external world squeeze you into its shape. If you do, you are living outside-in.

A person who lives inside-out invites Christ into his or her life and allows God to transform him or her from the inside-out. When Christ comes into our lives He changes our basic inner nature. When our basic inner nature changes then our values change. When our values change, our thinking changes. When our values and thinking changes, our behavior changes. Real change begins with inviting Jesus to live within us. Then we begin to change in every area of our lives, and it is a change that comes from within, rather than something being pressured or forced upon us from without.

The influential leaders in society are those who have the internal vision and core values to fulfill their unique purpose in life, rather than those who try to always be like someone else. The corporations that lead the way are those that set an internal course that shapes their organization and influences the outside world by their internal vision. The corporations that are always in second or third place are those that are copycats. They are not implementing their own internal values or unique contributions, but only trying to emulate the ideas or contributions that someone else is already making.

We should learn from others, but we should also learn that we are each unique, as are the people or the companies that we are admiring. We cannot be them, and they cannot be us. If we are always trying to be someone else, instead of being who we alone can be, then the world will miss out on the contribution that we alone could have made. We lose, and the world loses.

Do you live outside-in, or inside-out?