Divergent: A Lesson From

The Movies
BY DAIRA CURRAN

APRIL 2, 2014

Recently I saw the best seller book, turned movie,Divergent in theaters.

Then a week later, I went back and saw it again! Needless to say, I am a
little hooked on the creative concept the author (Veronica Roth) explored in
how we contribute and where we belong in society. Without giving any
thrilling details away, the author used five basic categories to define where

a person might fit within the human race and called them factions:
abnegation, erudite, dauntless, amity and candor. If you were part of this
society, when you became of age you would take a test that would
determine where you belonged:

If your result came back abnegation, it meant that you were selfless and could
govern the people justly.

If your test results came up dauntless, this meant you were brave and would
protect the people courageously.

If your test showed you were erudite, this would mean you were intelligent and
could make wise decisions to increase the value of the overall society.

If you scored as amity, you were kind and would work the fields happily.

Lastly, there were those who always spoke the truth, at any cost, and these
people were called candor.

In addition to the five, there were those who possessed not one single
characteristic listed above, or were booted from their particular faction, and
were henceforth called factionless, living homeless, never belonging in any
one particular group. Finally, to the main story-line, a story about some who
were neither factionless nor one of the five mentioned above. These people
were considered the rarest type of mankind, unable to be labeled as just
one faction: selfless, intelligent, courageous, kind or honest. This meant
you were divergent and as Christians, we too are meant to be divergent.
In Scripture, the Bible reminds us in 2 Corinthians 5:17,
Whoever is a believer in Christ is a new creation. The old way of living has
disappeared. A new way of living has come into existence. (Gods Word
Translation)

What does this mean for us as Christians? It means thatwhen we accept

Christ, we have entered into a relationship which changes our old sinful
DNA into a new creation, something reborn and repurposed for higher
things.

When We Accept Christ, We Have Entered Into A

Relationship Which Changes Our Old Sinful DNA Into
A New Creation, Something Reborn And Repurposed
For Higher Things.
We receive the Holy Spirit as our helper and the tests that the world tries to give
us, and label us, should come back with an inconclusive result making us among the
divergent. We are no longer who we were because the old has passed away; we
are now something that cannot be defined in one category. We are now something
the world should see as light, a rare gift, something that cannot be easily classified.
As we are the image of God on earth, people should see glimpses of who He is
through who we are in Him. Yet, what tends to happen as we begin to live our day to
day lives in a broken world is:
1.

We separate ourselves and become like the factionless, wandering through

life feeling powerless and often purposeless. While we know the Creator of all
power and purpose, we struggle with our identity, believe the lies of the enemy
and are not envied by the rest of society. We are considered by many people to
be outcasts. Or

2.

We conform to a faction. We find our worth through one characteristic, skillset

or strength. We play a role that we deem is who we are in this life, sometimes
even apart from Christ, other times just as a separate compartment. For
instance, we compartmentalize our occupation, family, God, hobbies and so on.
We become camouflaged. We blend in too well with the world and we stop Gods
light from coming through us and into the windows of peoples hearts.

The truth is, we are not supposed to be removed from people and we are
not supposed to be undesirable to model after. We have something
extremely attractive to others if we present the Gospel correctly because we
have Christ to offer. Likewise, we are not supposed to continue living with
our own little group of choice, never surpassing all God has for us to
become.

We Are Not Supposed To Continue Living With Our

Own Little Group Of Choice, Never Surpassing All
God Has For Us To Become.
We cannot afford to be timid with our faith. We are to be divergent, much like Paul
stated when he said, we must be all things to all people, allowing them to see the
difference within us. We are a new creature and we must embrace what that means
each day for the creation around us.

My prayer for you, as for myself, is that we begin to look, act and live
differently. We remember back to the day we accepted the beautiful gift of
Christ and the challenge of becoming a new creature. I hope that people
can see something that cannot be defined as a faction within us. Instead,
they see our Savior. They see us as multifaceted, possessing many gifts
but most importantly, on a mission to neither separate fully or conform
easily to the ways of the world.a true divergent.

Job Description for the Divergent

Youre different. You dont fit into any of the categories. They cant control you. They call
it divergent.
Tori, in Divergent
And what do they call you? Jock? Drama Queen? Brain? Prep? Nerd?
Or do you sometimes feel like you dont fit any of those labels? Or perhaps you are sick
of whatever normal labels exist in your corner of the world, and you are looking for
something better?

Those who follow Jesus tend to be the

most divergent of all! Why? Because He
was divergent.
Thats what the character Tris feels like in the movie Divergent, based on the bestselling
book series. She lives in post-apocalyptic Chicago, where society is divided into five
factions based on your virtuous character traits. Because she shows aptitude in three of
them, she is labeled a divergent.
And because of thatshe must die! (Cue creepy music.)
At least thats what the powers that be think in the film, but I wonder how often as Christ
followers we can relate to Tris predicament of being divergent.
divergent, adjective
tending to be different or develop in different directions
Source: Google Search

Our world is not always so kind to those who are different or are developing in different
directions, and those who follow Jesus tend to be the most divergent of all!
Why?
Because He was divergent. Though a rabbi, He tended to be different from the greedy,
power hungry, selfish culture that surrounded Him. He developed His life away from the
flow of society, and because of that, they crucified Him.
So why in the world would we dare to be different? Well, in the movie, Tris stayed true to
her nature and was able to change the worldand I would argue that the same
opportunity awaits those Christians who follow the same pattern.
How? In futuristic Chicago, you would go through a series of tests and survive the
eeeeeeevil government trying to take you out because you are trying to uncover their
eeeeeeevil plot.
In our real world today, you must embrace being different and follow the job description
that Jesus laid out for His followers who want to change the world:
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on the side of a mountain and sat down.
Jesus disciples gathered around him, and he taught them:
God blesses those people
who depend only on him.
They belong to the kingdom
of heaven!
God blesses those people
who grieve.
They will find comfort!

God blesses those people

who are humble.
The earth will belong
to them!
God blesses those people
who want to obey him
more than to eat or drink.
They will be given
what they want!
God blesses those people
who are merciful.
They will be treated
with mercy!
God blesses those people
whose hearts are pure.
They will see him!
God blesses those people
who make peace.
They will be called
his children!
God blesses those people
who are treated badly
for doing right.
They belong to the kingdom
of heaven (Matthew 5:1-10, CEV).

The word blesses here is potentially confusing because we tend to only use it when
someone sneezes. But the original word for bless is makarioswhich is a powerful
word used to describe someone who constantly maintained an inner peace and
contentment despite all outward circumstances.

When the world is trying to squeeze you

into its moldremember that awkward is
awesome!
In other words, when you follow the divergent path of being humble and pure and fully
depending on God, you will be labeled different on the outside, but you will experience
unsurpassed and unceasing internal joy.
But be warned! When you put Jesus words into practice, you invite persecution. The
government wont (most likely) be out to kill you, but the popular crowd may attack you
emotionally and assassinate you socially.
Thats why we are so blessed by the way Jesus wrapped up this message:
Count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak
lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort
and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happensgive a cheer, even!
for though they dont like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in
good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of
trouble(Matthew 5:11-12, The Message).

Holy Cow! When I am persecuted for being Divergent for Jesus and THE Cause of
Christ, I get the applause of heaven and a place beside the great spiritual warriors from
the Bible!
Thats an ending I am looking forward toare you?
Flashpoint: Ignite Into Action
The world is trying to squeeze you into the mold of normalremember that awkward is
awesome! Be divergent for THE Cause so others can break free from the narrow
minded culture of cool and find true peace and contentment.
Accelerant: Fuel for THE Cause
Pray: Jesus, thank You for Your amazing teaching on being divergent. Help us to apply
those characteristics to our lives so others will see the peace we have through You and
put their trust in You for salvation.
Read: Mark 3:7-12. Jesus went out to the lake with his disciples, and a large crowd
followed him. They came from all over Galilee, Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, from east of
the Jordan River, and even from as far north as Tyre and Sidon. The news about his
miracles had spread far and wide, and vast numbers of people came to see him.
Jesus instructed his disciples to have a boat ready so the crowd would not crush
him. He had healed many people that day, so all the sick people eagerly pushed forward
to touch him. And whenever those possessed by evil spirits caught sight of him, the
spirits would throw them to the ground in front of him shrieking, You are the Son of
God! But Jesus sternly commanded the spirits not to reveal who he was.

Get: Life in 6 Words Outreach Book. Help introduce your friends to the freedom
found in Jesus using the Life in 6 Words outreach book. Youth leaders, get your 100 free
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Leaders Discussion Guide

Big Idea: When we follow Jesus and model the Beatitudes, we will be labeled
divergent. But God uses the divergent to show the world how to find contentment in
Him.
Key Scripture: Matthew 5:1-10
Discussion Questions:

What has been your main label in school?

Have you ever felt divergent? What happened?

How can the Beatitudes produce internal contentment and joy?

How can you apply this Soul Fuel to living for THE Cause of Christ?