Complacency vs. Being Revolutionary

I debated over the title of this blog entry because I am not sure these are the words I mean to compare...but I'm running with it. You can give me suggestions if you think they should be changed.

Bryce and I went out to see Revolutionary Road with Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio in it this weekend. This is basically the premise of this entire movie...April and Frank are a married couple, and they move to a suburban town basically sharing a secret that they are somehow above the coorporate mundane, and the typical gender-specific family life-style of the 50's. What they find, however, is that they are doing the same thing as every other family on their street, in their town, and all over America. The only one that seems to "get it"--and think their ideas of doing something "more" might not be so "nuts", is the son of their neighbor's...one who has recently spent time in a mental institution.

I find that as a Christian, I am constantly torn between staying complacent, or doing something different. Or--questioning who I am/we are as a family simply because I look around at everyone else and make comparisons. We are often asked questions about how we choose to live, and ask ourselves these same questions on a regular basis..."Why do you have roommates? Or, "Why live in Gloucester City?" etc. Basically, "Why are you being different/going against the grain?"

I would like to think that the answer to many of these questions is not to be 'different'. I think our answers would mostly point to Jesus. Acts 4 and 5 teaches us to have all things in common, and to share our posessions with one another. Jesus tells us to be salt and light. I think that Jesus calls us to communication, vulnerability, and conflict. I don't think our decisions are radical, although they are often different from the norm. I don't think we are being Mother Theresa's or Ghandi's or Martin Luther King Jr.'s. Heck, I don't even know if what we are doing will make even a little bit of a difference in this world, in this city, on this street. I question if what we are doing matters a lick pretty much every day...and probably always will.

But--I think Frank and April have taught me some things...

1. I/we don't have to be the same as everyone else...cookie-cutter life is typically boring, afterall.

2. It's okay to make our own decisions, in the face of criticism.

3. The mundane is an okay thing--as long as its outcome is for good.

4. Change is good, and love can get you through any change. But it's still okay to put up red flags when necessary, and take your time making decisions.

5. Without love, most of what we do will fall apart anyway.

What do you think? Is being 'different' the point of Christianity? Can you be revolutionary even in the simple, daily tasks? Where is God in all of this?