“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” (Romans 12:2 NLT)
The result of a renewed mind is holiness or the opposite of what the world offers. As John writes in 1 John 2:16: “For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.”
Why do we do what we don’t want to do? The simple answer is, we habitually follow the pathways to pleasure defined by the world. In short, we just do what everyone else is doing. Jesus calls us to live and walk on a higher plane, one that is the result of a disciplined mind and heart, tuned and controlled by the Spirit of God. How is that possible? It’s not, humanly speaking, it’s an act of mercy that God’s Spirit performs in us by His grace.
Does that mean I just sit back and let God do all the work? Nope, it means we learn to train our mind to do God’s will rather than our own. How can we do that? Do you understand the only way to stop a bad habit is to replace it with a good one?
How do habits begin? We’re wired to travel the path of least resistance, so we do, say, think, and act in ways we see lived out before us. Our families of origin train us in our early years, then peer pressure will push us to act in ways that help us get accepted into the social groups of which we desire to be a part. That meant, when I gave my life to Jesus I had to find a new group of friends, friends who loved and desired to walk with the Lord.
Was that an easy transition? Yes and no. Some things like attending church and hanging out with the kids in the youth group were easy because many of the popular kids at school were believers. Where I struggled was developing my own personal disciplines. And the irony was, what I needed to change wasn’t bad in and of itself. I liked to play basketball from the time school was out until it got dark, then I got something to eat, maybe did some homework for school and went to bed.
At first, I didn’t grasp the essential nature of reading, studying, and memorizing Scripture, learning to pray, learning to share my faith, and basically learning to treat others in an acceptable way. As a teenager I didn’t like my mom to touch me or hug me. It wasn’t that she was ever inappropriate, but often it was when she was drinking, and it just bothered me.
After I got saved, I remember coming into the kitchen when my mom was washing dishes. I came up behind her and put my arms around her waist and told her I loved her. I can’t know with certainty, but I’m confident that that, at least in part, led to my mom’s surrendering her life to Jesus. Old habits die hard, but when we allow the Holy Spirit to enable us to form new, godly habits it helps us grow in closeness to the Lord, which is the purpose of holiness.
Everything we do is governed by our mind, so in order to walk faithfully with Jesus we must allow Him to renew our mind as we replace old habits with new ones, stretching our mind to think God’s thoughts and training the “ears” of our heart to hear God’s voice.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 