Richie Jackson is one of the most unique skateboarders in the industry. From the tricks he does, to the spots he skates, to the way he dresses, no one is as unique as this guy.

Being unique isn’t always an easy thing to do. Standing out from the norm can be scary, and it can often get us outcasted, made fun of, or keep us from being accepted. Kids with handicaps like speech impediments, or autism usually get made fun of in grade school because it’s not normal. So why don’t we see more people skating like Richie Jackson? Because it’s not normal, he skates weird.

Jesus says in Matthew 5:11, “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.” Now why would anybody persecute someone on the account of Christ? Because it’s weird, it’s not normal to commit everything to Christ and live like a Christian. It’s not normal to wait till you’re married to have sex, it’s not normal to be sober and to refrain from getting high everyday at the skate park or getting drunk every Friday and Saturday night. People that “stand out” and “go against the grain” are classified as weird people that often get made fun of or rejected. But just as Jesus says, “Blessed” are those that are persecuted for His sake, blessed are the weird ones that go against the grain. Richie Jackson went against the grain with his skateboarding and now all his youtube videos have hundreds of thousands of views, and he is making a living skateboarding.

Jesus says in John 10:10, “I came that they may have life and have it more abundantly.” Professing to be a Christian and living as a Christian are two different things. Professing to be a Christian and not living like one will not make you stand out and cause you to be classified as weird. Therefore you will also not have life and have it more abundantly. Being unique and standing out is hard and can cause people to get made fun of and rejected, but in the end it can turn into a huge blessing. Richie Jackson is making his living from doing what he loves – skating in a weird way, and the Christian gets to have life more abundantly by standing out and going against the grain.