As Christians, we march to a different drum.  Or at least we should be.  Ours is not the kingdom of the world; instead, it is the kingdom of God. 

We’ve a different King. 

In the world of men there is all manner of political posturing, accusations, lies, distortions of the truth, and a lot of big money to move people into positions of power so they rule can rule over the masses of lesser power.  Once there most all look to them for good and blame them for their bad.  So called public servants, most are there out of greed and the lust for power.  

We, as informed Christians, understand they are there because God put them there, and there is One who is the King of King’s and Lord of lords. Or, in our day we might say, the President of presidents. 

In New Testament times this got people killed.  Worldly leaders don’t like sharing power.  They like being worshipped.  We however, worship only one Leader, the Lord Jesus Christ.  Who knows but maybe it will get us killed too. 

We live by different rules. 

There are the governments of the world, and then there is God’s government.  These are often diametrically opposite each other.  While we in America enjoy the best of all governmental systems, still it can be miles from what God would have.  

The world’s system has bazillions of laws and ordinances which control just about every facet of daily life.  In some countries it is pure bondage.  In ours there are so many laws that we all inevitably break some every day.  

In God’s government there are but two:  you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength.  And you shall love your neighbor as yourself.  Everything else stems from these two. 

Our reason for being is different. 

In America there is what is called the American dream.  You graduate from High School, go to college, find a spouse, buy a house, have kids, retire at 65, play golf or travel, then you die.  It is all about getting ahead, having nice things, and being happy.  

Jesus however, said sell all you have and that people will hate you if try and live righteously.  That Christians partake of the good things of modern day United States is a plus.  Or, maybe it isn’t.  

What I mean to say is that we live for something other than accumulating things, for being happy.  While I want to be happy (who doesn’t), I would rather be serving the King of kings and let that take me where it will.  Ours is a kingdom purpose.  If we believe God’s ways are best, and that what Jesus Christ says is absolutely true, then that is our purpose, to not only live that way, but further it.  I note that multitudes of others are trying to shove the world’s ways down everyone else’s throats; Christians however have something to offer that is so good it just needs to be told.  

We view the world a different way. 

Christians, at least those who read and understand the Bible, view things from God’s perspective and not man’s.  That is to say, spiritually.  They see men as spiritual beings, not just flesh and blood.  The see the world as the stage on which the war between good and evil plays out.  They recognize evil when they see it.  They know there are masses of unseen spiritual forces, both of the good kind and the bad kind.  They see through people and things because they are spiritually discerning.  Most of all, they view the world and the people in it through the eyes of love.

Our future is entirely different. 

Those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, in His death, burial, resurrection, and living rule, have the hope of eternal life.  They know that this life is not all there is; that there is a world beyond to which the Bible and others testify.  They understand death to be door to eternal life spent with God. 

People of the world have death to look forward to, a death that is final.  All die, for sure; but not all go to heaven.  

In what can only be deemed the great perversion of Scripture, many have come to believe that if they simply lead a good life they will enter through the pearly gates.  They believe that if their good outweighs their bad, they have it made.  But it does not work that way.  The Bible teaches that all our ‘righteousness’–our good deeds–are as filthy rags.  No matter how good they are, they are unacceptable to God as tickets to eternal life.  It is only the righteousness of the Lord Himself, conferred upon His believing children, that merits entry into that eternal kingdom of the Lord and Savior.  

And then, of course, are those who accept as fact that there is nothing beyond this life.  I held to this belief once.  You live and you die, and the worms eat you.  There is nothing past now.  So you do as you please as there are no consequences to your good or your evil.  

We speak a different language. 

Words mean something, and to the Christian, God’s words mean everything.  Yes, we utter such things as “Praise God,” and “Hallelujah,”  but there is more than these alone.  When we speak of life, we understand it to mean as from God, coming at the very moment of conception.  When we use the word “love,” we know that it has nothing to do with self-gratification and warm fuzzies; instead we believe it to be a life laid down for others.  When we say we have hope, it means far more than baseless expectations built on fanciful notions; it is planted and grows tall upon the promises of God.  

The things we value are different.  

For the Christian, what matters most are God and His word.  These rank supreme among the things that we esteem important.  From these come love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Ours is not a race to accumulate as much as we can in this life; it is, rather, the pursuit of God and His will for our lives.  What pleases God is what we’re after, not what pleases men.  

The Bible says that we believers are “a peculiar people, a chosen generation, a holy nation” (1 Peter 2:9).  To those outwardly we may look the same as others, yet inwardly, and by the manner of lives we lead, we are of a completely different sort than the rest of the world.  We march to a different drumbeat, that of God’s not man’s.