Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2)
One
of the “choruses” I’ve heard from people is, “Observe the masses and do the
opposite.” To this, I urge caution and wisdom. The opposite of what is wrong is
not necessarily right. It could be just as wrong – or more wrong – in a
different direction. We can turn from the world, and hate the world system, and
refuse to conform to it for all the wrong reasons. Some people seem quite proud
of how they oppose the world. They aren’t like those folks. They’re better. Unfortunately,
that’s precisely the pattern of “the world.”
But
there is truth to the saying. If you are going to not follow the pattern of
this world, you have to have some clue about what the pattern of the world is, and
why it is what it is. If the world turns right and we turn left, but both we
and the world go around the block, we can end up at the same place.
And
we naturally think like the world. We grew up in it. It’s what we know. The
only way to not be like the world is to renew our minds – to change the way we
think, not just what we think. And that’s not as easy as “I’m not going to think
______ about ______.” If our focus is on what we’re not going to think about,
we’re thinking about it. Whether our thoughts are positive or negative, they
are still centered on the very thing we say we don’t want it to be.
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