In Romans 12:2a it says "Do not conform to the pattern of this world," Conform, what does that mean? In the Webster dictionary, it says: (of a person) behave according to socially acceptable conventions or standards. What does that mean? If I conform or I do things like the world does, that means I am conforming to there way of thinking. Haven't we as a Christian people, followed the way the world is? Are we being more like the world than like Christ? I think these are questions we must ask ourselves moment by moment. I can't answer it for you, but I know for me, that I will stand before God and give an account of all my words and my actions.
The number one item I think about when given this challenge to think about my own actions verses conforming to the world. The world puts an effusive on self, they are all about themselves, they put themselves before others, they focus on what makes them happy first. They are blind to what other people may think or feel and/or they do not care. However, Jesus said in Matthew 22:37 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'" or in Philippians 2:3 "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves," That in itself contradicts the world and what it believes, we are to put God first and then others. The last part of that is key, in humility value others above yourselves (myself). That just goes against everything the world says. When we are married, this is what God is getting at, He talks about how our spouse is to be valued is to be first in our lives, besides God of course, but what does the world say. We are to please ourselves, focus on ourselves and then we can worry about then if we have leftover we can give it to them, but that isn't what God says. He says they get your full amount, the leftover goes to work and such.
Can you imagine if we broke down every part of what God says to do in the Bible and compared it to the world today, where would that make us different? Or are we conforming, following the world, doing what it says. In Matthew 13:15 "For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise, they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.'" Or in: 2 Timothy 3:1-5 "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people."
Ephesians 4:29-30 “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to the needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”
Romans 12:2 it says "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."
