Fashionable
and do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect Romans 12:2
Conformed – In case you haven’t lived long enough to notice, the world is preoccupied with fashion. I’m not talking about runway models or designer labels. I mean that the world is consumed with “what’s next.” From business to politics to education to religion, the world flocks to the fad game. It might be Japanese management (remember that one?) or cooperative education or bipartisan unity or religious tolerance, but it is all basically the same. It’s whatever man can think of next. It is a headlong rush away from God’s revealed plan for living. If you want what the world has to offer, just wait until tomorrow. But if you want what God wants, you will have to look back at yesterday.
Paul picks a Greek term that exquisitely captures this radical difference: suschematizo. If you look hard, you will see the English “schematic” here. The addition of sus means “together with.” In other words, Paul says “Don’t be shaped or molded or fashioned together with the things of this age. Be radically different by being transformed.” That’s what we all want, right? That’s what we all claim. We are under grace. We have been transformed. We aren’t like the world.
Really? Maybe we need to ask ourselves a few questions that reveal our deeper (unconscious) conformity.
- Do you support or consent to an education process that holds up “success” as the primary goal of life? Do you think that being educated is knowing a lot of things? Do you push your children to become a significant part of the culture by playing important roles? Or is knowing God and His will at the very top of your educational objective?
- Are your business practices (as boss or employee) governed entirely by God’s character? Is compassion at the top of your “best practices” list? Is money simply a means for honoring the King? Would you pass up a promotion if it jeopardized your ability to be of service in your spiritual community? Are you climbing the corporate ladder or looking for a way to help someone from the basement?
- Do you think life is about getting ahead? Do you struggle with “significance”? Do things look greener someplace else? Or are you content to live as God provides?
- Is your faith so vital that it can withstand even the cruelest blows? Are you so in love with the Master that you are unshakeable in your devotion? Or do you find reasons to doubt? Do you look for moral vacations? Do you feel that you deserve better?
We could add to the list, I’m sure. There are a host of “differentiators” that we usually ignore, like Sabbath-keeping and diet and pilgrimages and festival days. Somehow we think that all of that is “old-fashioned.” Maybe we have forgotten who wrote it. God isn’t a fad.
Now let me ask you again. How much of your life is fashioned together with this age?
Topical Index: Transformation
