Do Not Conform

Yesterday, I shared a passage from the book of Romans, chapter 12, “I appeal to you brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice…” Paul continues, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

It’s interesting: the offering of our bodies begins with our minds… our interior world…

It’s as if to say, Jesus has called us to this beautiful way of life, a transformed way of life, a way of life that leads to healing, peace, and wholeness. It is a way of life that makes an impact on the world around us. But in order to make an impact in that outer world, we have to start in this inner world…

Do not conform, but be transformed…

What does that look like?

Maybe, at least in part, conforming to this age is taking on the fears and anxieties and grasping of this world around us.

I was listening to a podcast the other day, and this meditation teacher was talking about a friend who had gone through a pretty terrible divorce. He said the guy his friend had married was a successful type-A lawyer, and he was trying to keep all the money and also get custody of the children. He was also telling stories about her as a bad mother, while he was the one who had had a series of affairs. She said, “At some point, I came to where I could see a clear fork in the road, how I would deal with this. If I turned to the one direction, there was bitterness, smallness, and anger. To the other, was openness, forgiveness, and largeness.”

She had been praying and meditating, and she said, “I’ve come to a revelation. I will not take on that anger. I will not take on that smallness. And I will not bequeath a legacy of bitterness to my children.”

Often in life, we have choices about what we take in, what we take on, and what we absorb. There is a lot of anger, anxiety, and grasping in the world around us. There is a lot of hate.

Paul says do not be conformed.

I like the way Michael Singer puts it, “The world is sick and neurotic, but it doesn’t mean you have to be.”

With all the pain and suffering in the world around us, sometimes it feels overwhelming. But the one gift we can offer is our own sense of inner peace and well-being. May you and I ever work on ourselves. And, may we ever be open to the renewal and transformation of our inner worlds.

Let us pray: We give you our hearts, our minds, our hands, O God. Help us to love others as Jesus has loved us, to care for others as Jesus has cared for us, and to forgive others, as Jesus has forgiven us. We ask in his name. Amen.