Do Not Conform

             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)

The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: “God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.” (Luke 18:11)

 

I don’t tend to conform to expected patterns. Even when I was growing up, I felt like I didn't fit in. I was a Republican, a Protestant, a Conservative, a single woman, a teetotaler, and a student in a neighborhood and world that was not. It's possible that part of the reason I enjoy my current job so much is that I share a mutual interest with many of the people I work with, but even then, I’m still a little off. “Do you know you can eat those?” (Usually said to someone buying pansies or Johnny-Jump-ups.) I’ve also introduced part of the staff to Aronia berries, not to their delight, but they can say they’ve eaten one. This is why I can’t understand how it is that people who aren’t like me think they’re the ones who are counter cultural. They are (as one of their own songs claims) “the world.”

So when today’s verse tells us not to conform to the pattern of the world, can I pat myself on the back? My answer to that is “NO!” Perhaps the best way to explore this is by saying that I may be traveling east on a local street to reach a specific destination. I might be headed in the right direction, but I’m driving the same way as the world – too fast, too distracted, too confident in my ability to handle my vehicle in the conditions I encounter, etc. Feel free to add your own variations on the theme. We would be quick to thank God that we weren’t like the tax collector, someone else was saying roughly the same thing about us. In both cases, our gratitude is born of lies because both of “us” are like both of them.

Not conforming to the world requires more than just the change of some bad habits. It requires a shift of everything about ourselves: our thoughts, our feelings, our wills, our identities, our bodies, our spirits, and our souls. It can only happen if God works it out in our lives.