NO CONFORMITY
TO THE WORLD!
Scripture Reading--Romans 12:1, 2
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God,
that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice,
holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
And be not conformed to this world:
but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind,
that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable,
and perfect, will of God."
( emphasis added ).
As we address the importance of protecting our families from the overwhelming flood of evil that threatens our destruction, we must consider the influence of the world on the Christian home. Satan wants to destroy us, the powers of darkness want to defile us, and today we see that the world wants to conform us--to make us like they are. To conform means to be "squeezed into a mold." The world is putting pressure on the Christian family in an attempt to squeeze us into its mold.
Many Christian families measure their spirituality by how far they stay away from the world. But the world is always changing and moving farther from God. Unfortunately, as the world moves, so do those families--just so they maintain their distance. Before long, they are right where the world was no long ago. The true measure of our spiritual lives should never be how far we stay from the world but how close we are living to God. As the world moves away from God, we should live closer to Him. Therein is our protection.
The world seeks to conform us because it knows if it can destroy our distinctiveness as Christians, it has destroyed our effectiveness. What do we offer the world if we're just like it? We must not think, talk, act, or look like the world if we want to be effective for Christ in the world.
ACTION POINT: Read and discuss the following verses with your family----2 Corinthians 6:17; James 1:27; 4:4; and 1 John 2:15-17, 5:19. What is God saying about the world?
--Jack Palmer--
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