On Nonconformity
By David W. Gill
When I was a kid in Sunday School, I memorized chapter 12 of Paul’s Letter to the Romans, which says early on “Do not be conformed to this world (Greek aeon = “age, era”) but be transformed by the renewing of your mind so that you may prove (i.e., figure out and act out) what the will of God is, that which is good, pleasing, and perfect (i.e. complete).”
That “do not be conformed” bit meant to me “question authority” and “resist just going along with the crowd.” This got me into a little trouble in school but served me well as an undergrad at Berkeley in the 1960s—and ever since!
Wherever we are, whatever we do, this line from Paul is good advice. This is my constant question: Is what we are doing really the right way? The best way: To treat our colleagues, customers, bosses, competitors, or the natural environment? Maybe so, but maybe no. All of our workplace practices and policies need to be carefully examined—and sometimes affirmed, other times resisted or replaced. We must not just be passive conformists. That is a path to racism, sexism, injustice, and harm. Have a thoughtful, critical mind where you work.
But Paul’s counsel is not to just become cranky, negative, and critical. “Don’t be conformed” is followed by “be transformed.” Our objective is not just to denounce or avoid the bad, but to discover the good. Paul says what is “good, well-pleasing, and perfect” is the will of God. We want to live and work guided by and aiming at the “will of God”—not just conforming to the “will of the world around us.” Some cynics say “might makes right.” Some say “maximum profits for our owners and shareholders” is all that matters. Many think that the minimal requirements of our laws and regulations are enough when it comes to right and wrong.
The real transformation comes when we ask “what would be right in the eyes of the God who created, values, and loves everybody”? Our standard is not the god of our race, or company, or country, or even our religion. What is right in the eyes of the creator and redeemer of every man, woman, and child on earth?
God gives us insights through many channels but we Christians believe God has spoken most fully and clearly, uniquely and authoritatively, in the life and teaching of Jesus Christ. There will be no racism, no harassment, no worker or client disrespect, no trashing of the environment where people are transformed by a quest to know and do the will of God, where Jesus is truly the anchor of our values and work practices.
So nonconformity can be a workplace virtue—if it is followed up by a transformation of our thinking in pursuit of what the God of everybody says and shows to be good, pleasing, and perfect.
David W. Gill (www.davidwgill.org) is an Oakland-based writer and speaker on Christian ethics and workplace/business ethics. He served forty years as an ethics professor at New College Berkeley, North Park University, St. Mary’s College, and Gordon-Conwell Seminary and is the author of ten books, most recently What Are You Doing About It? The Memoir of a Marginal Activist (2022) and Workplace Discipleship 101: A Primer (2020).
