Do Not Conform Any Longer to the Pattern of this World

Have you ever had one of those experiences where you felt like you were reading a scripture for the first time even though you know you've read it or heard it dozens if not hundreds of times?

Earlier this year I was sitting in a small-group discussion where we looked at a number of scriptures including Romans 12:2, which says, "Do not conform any longer 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."  The piece that stood out to me was, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world ..."

Whoa!  That hit me differently than it ever had before. The word that stood out to me was pattern.  What is my life pattern?  What is your life pattern?  Do our daily patterns look any different than the patterns of our non-believing neighbors ... other than the fact that we go to church on Sunday morning and perhaps bible study on a weekday night?  The sad truth is that for most of my adult life the answer is no.

The words “conform…to the pattern” are one Greek word, suschematizo, which means, “to form according to a pattern or mold.” The word “world” is not kosmos which means the created world, but rather aion, or “age.”  Perhaps The Message says it best. "Don't become so well adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking..."  NOW we're getting somewhere.

How often do we ask ourselves why we do what we do?  Have you challenged yourself lately with the question, "Why do I think what I think?" or "Why to I believe what I believe?"  Are our answers to these questions cultural or biblical?  Are our choices we make birthed out of seeking a renewed mind or are they more a reflection that we've adjusted to our culture?  When I'm just going through the motions, there's a high likelihood that the pattern of my motions don't align with God's perfect will for my life.

Here's the kicker.  The scripture seems to tell us that if we fit well in to this culture, we can't know God's perfect will for our lives.  I will admit that this is only one verse out of thousands ... millions actually.  And it doesn't actually tell us what prevents us from knowing God's will.  Instead it tells us what empowers us to know God's will.  Nevertheless, when I take this scripture to it's logical conclusion in my life, I surmise that fitting into this culture makes it much more difficult to make decisions in accordance with His perfect will for my life.