Mind Games

About four years ago, I had dinner with a client I had known for some time. We first met back in 2016 when he was at a software company that I was also working with. He had since moved on, and several years had passed before we finally sat down for that dinner.

At some point in our conversation, he looked at me and said, "I hope you do not take this the wrong way, but there is something very different about you; in a good way. You seem more at ease and not as intense. Even your eyes look brighter."

His comment made me smile, and I assured him there was no offense taken. I told him that his observations were correct and shared with him the work God had done in my life during the years in between our working together.

Conformity or Transformation?

In his letter to the Roman church, the Apostle Paul says the following, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."

There is so much we can take away from this one verse, but for me, the two words that stand out are conformed and transformed.

When I think of the word conformed, my mind goes to my childhood when we would play with Silly Putty. We would take the Silly Putty and press it into different shapes, different molds. We would roll it in our hands to make a ball and throw it around, and when we grew tired of that, we would press it into a different shape.

We would conform the putty into anything we wanted, but the putty itself never changed; it stayed the same and had the same consistency no matter what we made it conform to.

This is not the same, not even close, to transformation.

The Greek word (the language the book of Romans was written in) Paul uses for "transformed" is metamorphoo. This is the same word we get metamorphosis from. It's the complete change a caterpillar undergoes to become a butterfly.

This complete change from one thing, one consistency, to another. This is the transformation that Paul is speaking about, and it is some of what my friend saw in me at dinner.

Mind vs Feeling

Paul does not simply give this command and leave it at that. He provides a clear plan on how we can be transformed; it is through the renewal of our minds. The mind is the immaterial part of who we are. It is what & how we think, how we reason, our ruling faculties that dictate how we live.

The challenge that presents itself is that in our present age (what we are not to be conformed to), is the urging to live based on our "feelings".

We see it continually with the advice to "follow your heart." We see it in the breakdown of marriages when someone says, "I just don't feel like they are my person." We see it in our modern-day therapy when asked, "How do you feel about that..."

And if we know one thing, it is that our feelings will betray us and are fickle by nature. I find that my feelings about a certain thing can change simply with a good night's sleep. This is not all what Paul is speaking about.

The Process for Renewal

How we go about this process of renewal, which leads to transformation, is vital if we are going to live a full and vibrant life. And the only way we can experience this transformation through renewal is by clinging to what we know to be true (not speaking about the other prevalent "my truth" falsehood that is in our world today).

When I think about the renewal of our minds, I think of the adage that was used in the early days of technology, "garbage in, garbage out". What we put into our minds and our thoughts will dictate what comes out and how we operate in this world.

This is why the enemy works so hard to corrupt our thinking. He knows that if he can control your thoughts, he can control your life. He doesn't need to make you fall into major sin, he just needs to fill your mind with lies, anxiety, comparison, and fear so you will be conformed.

Solomon understood this when he wrote, "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he."

It is for this reason that Paul tells the Philippians to think (use your mind for) on, "whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable; if anything is excellent or praiseworthy."

These things, which are from the Lord,  are grounded in truth and will be the things that transform us, make us different, and go far beyond conformity.

Understanding this should make all of us stop and evaluate if what we are feeding ourselves is causing transformation or conformation?

When my friend noticed the difference in me, what he noticed was the transformation (God's sanctification work) in my life. This was not something I forced or accomplished through sheer will; it was the impact of the truth of Christ working in my mind to make me more like Him. I have found that this transformation continues as I

• Spend consistent time in God's word to learn more about who He is

• Praying instead of worrying

• Dying to myself and coming alive through Christ

• Seeking truth over feeling

• Thinking and consuming the things of God instead of the things of this present age

My prayer for you is that you will reject conformity and instead pursue transformation, which can only be accomplished through the renewal of your mind, and that is a mind set on the things of Christ.

Running the race with you,

Carlos

This edition was first published in The Life Design Newsletter on LinkedIn.