Do not Conform
For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace ~ Romans 8:6 ESV
And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done ~ Romans 1:28 ESV
Your mind is your greatest asset. The above scripture is telling us that we are corrupt because we have failed to retain the knowledge of God in our minds. We need to understand that a mind devoid of the knowledge of God is a mind full of corrupted information which brings nothing but death into our lives. The quality of life you live is directly proportional to the quality of food you feed your mind. You need the right kind of information, in this case, the word of God, to align yourself with the will of God for your life.
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect ~ Romans 12:2 ESV
To conform means to be within a set form or shape; to act in accordance with expectations; to behave in the manner of others especially as a result of social pressure; to be in accordance with a set of specifications or regulations, or with a policy or guideline. It’s to make similar in form or nature; to make suitable for a purpose; to adapt.
The word “world” as used in the above scripture is a system of values, beliefs, paradigms, and practices that govern a place and time we are in. Its Greek translation is “aion” which is translated as “age” in English. This word “world” therefore, as used in the above scripture, doesn’t really refer to the world as most of us know and understand it, but rather a system that governs the time we are living in.
Now, if you as a child of God fail to follow the word of God and decide to flow with the system of the modern age, you are in essence conforming to the world. For example, the age we are in has normalized things like having another partner outside marriage, compromising to get the things we want like jobs, contracts, financial support, and other things, and this is contrary to the word of God. This is the age we are living in and since it is not in alignment with the word of God, we cannot conform to it, or rather, we should not align ourselves with it and its ways.
In essence, this scripture is telling us not to allow ourselves to fit into this “age” (the time we are living in); not to adapt to it, to act like it or to behave like it, but rather, to allow God to change us from within so that we can be in divine alignment to His will and word for our lives. This will give us a complete change of our minds because nothing changes until our mind changes. The real change is the one that happens within us and I believe that this is one of the reasons why God is so very interested with our hearts. When we allow God to transform us by renewing our minds, our focus will begin to change and the things of this world will become of less importance.
