In Romans 12, there’s this beautiful passage where Paul is speaking to the church in Rome. The first verse may be familiar to you. “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship,” Romans 12:1 NIV.
What a beautiful verse. It makes me want to offer everything—every ounce of my being—to God’s kingdom and God’s ways. So, it seems strange when Paul shares in the next verse, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world” Romans 12:2 NIV.
Apparently, Paul knew that when we try to live right, the devil is going to do everything he can to sway us from true and proper worship.
In verse 2, Paul tells the Christians in Rome that if they want to live this kind of life, they have to be the kind of people who resolve to not allow outside pressures to determine who they are.
Sometimes we don’t even realize that we are conforming “to the pattern of this world.” Conforming can happen when we allow outside influences to change our inside focus. It begins when we allow outside voices, outside perspectives and outside thoughts to change our inside view of ourselves, our identity and what we believe to be true.
Take a moment to ask yourself: How in 2022 did you allow outside voices and outside pressures to change you inside? Did you find yourself creating unhealthy patterns that were truly destructive to the person God intended you to be?
Maybe you can relate to being in environments that dictate what we think and what we feel to be true about ourselves. We adapt. We keep it safe. We hide. We play. We earn. All we’re trying to do is find our identity in everything else.
Paul would say that this is not worship. You can’t offer everything in a way that’s holy and pleasing to God if you are being influenced by your environment. That is going backward in the story.
Every day, especially every New Year, you have a choice. You can keep the same patterns going, or you can create a new story and have a fresh start.
Paul strongly encourages us to offer everything to God. That requires us to be aware of our patterns of brokenness. We must resolve to no longer conform to those lies, but instead focus on the bigger picture.
Our earthly home is only temporary. “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,” Philippians 3:20 NIV.
Paul understood where his citizenship was held. He stood for every value that is represented by Jesus: love, radical grace, incredible hospitality and unbelievable generosity. Paul knew there would be challenges, but he trusted in God’s will. “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,” Romans 12:2 NIV.
We have that opportunity today. To be transformed. To give God the battle in our minds. To change into something entirely new. When we allow God’s will in our lives and trust that He knows best, He will help us become the fabulous people God intended for us to be, sharing His love with those around us.
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Elton DeMoraes, D.Min, is president of the Texas Conference of Seventh-day Adventists in Alvarado, Tex.
A version of this editorial appeared in the January/February 2023 issue of the Southwestern Union Record. You can find the online issues here.
