Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:2 (New American Bible translation)
Everywhere I turned this weekend, in prayer, in reading or on Facebook, this bible verse seemed to be the common theme – it kept coming up so I decided to sit with it for a while.
What does it mean to conform? To act in accord with the prevailing standards, attitudes, practices, etc. of society or a group. Scripture is telling us not to conform ourselves to this age. What is “this age?” What are the prevailing standards, attitudes, practice of society? I think we can all agree that this age is full of excess, obsession, intolerance, division, disrespect, ingratitude and selfishness, among other things (some positive of course). These negative attitudes seem to be the rule and not the exception.
We see the excess everywhere we turn – having the “wants” as opposed to the “needs”. We see excess in addictions and in the workplace – work more to have more. MORE! MORE! MORE! We see excess in our children. A simple board game is no longer enough, a simple no frills shirt and sneakers just doesn’t cut it. We’ve created these little monsters because WE have conformed to this age. We see obsession with appearance all over the television, diet, exercise, designer this that and the other thing.
We see intolerance, division and disrespect not only in the frequent terrorist attacks that have become the norm, but also in our own neighborhoods and families. We experience ingratitude when we focus on what we don’t have instead of focusing on the abundance right under our noses. (A roof over our head, a comfy bed, heat, something to eat, etc.). When we fail to sacrifice ourselves for others, when we lose sight of others’ feelings, we exhibit selfishness.
Despite all these things, there is still hope for us! The second part of this verse tells us to be transformed by the renewal of our mind. The definition of renewal is the “state of being made new, fresh or strong AGAIN.” Again? So renewal is about getting BACK to a place, a state of mind, we’ve already been. But when were we there? It’s probably hard to believe that we were there as children but we were. Remember when you were a child and you had no idea how much money your parents had, nor did you care? Remember when you weren’t worried about what you wore (the red shirt, with the purple pants and the brown shoes! LOL!) or when you weren’t afraid to speak your mind (children say the darnest things)? Remember when you had several friends, each of a different race and religion and you loved them all the same? This was a time when we all would go about our day just simply being ourselves, our TRUE selves! What happened? We have to get back there.
Renewal of our mind, for me means getting back to a place where we become humble, innocent, honest, comfortable, loving beings. Where we become free of society’s hold on us. It means “re-programming” our minds through reading, meditation and prayer, to become comfortable with who we are and to be willing to stand up for what we believe is right. Renewal of the mind means focusing on what is “above” , what is good, pleasing and perfect, as opposed to what is “below.” To become like little children again, free spirits, literally! Jesus himself clues us in on this when he says: “unless you become like little children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” People often talk of conversion, I don’t know what it means for them, but for me this verse sums it up! Are you ready to convert?
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