I was on an airplane the other day.  I was done reading, done playing games on my iPad, done working and done talking since the people around me were sleeping.  This left me alone with some thoughts.  As I sat there contemplating a variety of thoughts (some significant and others superficial), I started creating a list in my head.  It was a list of superficial things where I find myself on the wrong side of the majority.  Or at least the majority as I am aware of it.  I did not have any hard data, but I am pretty sure I find myself on the minority side of the following:

• I like lakes more than oceans
• I like pepper more than salt
• I like cereal better without milk than with milk
• I like riding in the car more than driving the car

As I thought about this, I moved from the superficial to the significant.  An important thought hit me.  There are priorities, places and principles where the best place to be is on the least popular side.  Being on the wrong side can be a really good thing.  In a world where being liked, popular and accepted drives so much of who we are and what we do, being on the right side with the majority matters quite a bit.  We are even willing to change thoughts and actions for the sake of being part of what is the perceived majority.  But here is the thing, being on the wrong side is often the best place to be.

• Be on the wrong side by giving more stuff away to others versus consuming it all for you
• Be on the wrong side by prioritizing caring for those who most people ignore (the sick, the poor, the oppressed, that kid at school)
• Be on the wrong side by acknowledging that your presence as a parent matters more than the presents you give as a parent
• Be on the wrong side by not shaping your values by what is popular but by what you really believe is true and matters
• Be on the wrong side by thinking eternally and not just immediately