“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.”
During the last Presidential election there was a lot of talk about Change. Well, no matter which side of the aisle that you come down on politically, I think you will agree that talking about Change and actually bringing it about are two different things. It is hard enough to bring lasting changes about in ourselves. How much harder is it to change a country?
Most of us know that there are areas of our lives that are in need of change. This is the time of year that we start making New Year’s resolutions only to wad them up and throw them away a few months later. The Self-Help industry generates billions of dollars every year helping people to try and change their lives.
The principle that Paul gives us here is that we only are able to change our behavior if we can change the way that we think. We can try to break bad habits. We can try to create good, healthy habits. In the long run, however, we will only be successful if we have established new thought patterns.
There are some experts in the Self-Help industry that have tapped into this. Their books and lectures provide a good starting place for changing the way their clients think. For Paul, though, he is concerned about more than just having people feel good about themselves. His goal was “transformation.” The Greek word is “metamorphosis.” For Paul, changing the way we think allows God to do His work in us and transform us into His image.
We will never change our behavior until we change the way we think!
What is one way in which you need to change the way you think in 2015?
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