Romans 12:2, 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 (KJV). For the Christian, opportunities to conform to the way the world does things are all around us. It's human nature to want to belong. It's natural to want to be included as opposed to excluded.
Everyone wants to be a part of the cool in crowd, but think about this for a moment. What is cool? Who sets the "cool" standard? When you close your eyes and imagine what a Christian looks like, do you see a "cool" person? If your answer is no, could the reason be that we as Christians don't think very highly of ourselves? In Romans 12:3, Paul says, "For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith." Did you get that? Don't think more highly of yourself than you ought to think. We are to think highly of ourselves. The problem comes when we begin to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think. So if we think highly of ourselves, it should show.
As a Deputy Sheriff, I thought highly of myself and I thought highly of the organization I was a part of. The result of my thinking was a high level of performance on the job. I was brought up to think that Law Enforcement was a noble profession; therefore I enjoyed serving my community. I didn't think I was more or better than anyone I served. However, I was proud to be a part of the Law Enforcement community. As a cop, I had no desire to participate in criminal activities. I remember going into some of the worst areas of my city and while there, I felt no pressure to conform to the negative surroundings I found myself in, nor was I ashamed of who I was and the job I was there to perform.
So as Christians living in, working in, and playing in non-Christian environments, shouldn't we see ourselves as the cool kids on the block? Or are we ashamed to be associated with the label "Christian" because of what others think of our group? I think it's time we applied a bit of reverse peer pressure. It seems to me like they should want to be like us...the in crowd. When they see us with the strength to forgive when we are wronged. When they see us giving our employers an honest day's work. When they see us loving one another with the love of the Lord. And when they see us walking consistently in the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) God's influence through us will be undeniable. And to top it all off, days, months and years after they witness Christ in us, they will have the Holy Spirit speaking to their hearts, reminding them of what real life in Christ is like.
Let's change the standard and show the world who the real cool kids are. Walk in love. Walk by faith. Show the Fruit of the Spirit everywhere you go and watch the contagious, undeniable effect of the Spirit of God take over your home, your town, your State and eventually, the World.
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