Be transformed by the renewing of your mind...

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect."

The Apostle Paul, Romans 12:2

"This world" is Paul's term for the cultural worldview in which we all live. This world is permeated through and through by "Sin" - not just the sins we commit, but a cosmic Actor, a force that is more powerful than humanity and opposed to God.
According to Paul, the baptized have the freedom to escape Sin's clutches and experience a life in Christ. We no longer have to live by the world's rules, following the world's values and evaluating our lives with the world's goals in mind. Instead, we can change from the inside out - experience metamorphosis - by having our minds renewed, by receiving a new worldview whose source is God.

As we change, we become better able to see God's will, and live the life that was designed for us.

John's Gospel, written several decades after Paul's letter to Rome, takes up this theme in Jesus' final prayer for his disciples from John 17: "they are in the world... I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world." We are in the world, and can not escape it. Indeed, we are sent into it. But we do not belong to it; we belong to God. And, as God's own, it is possible for us to escape the lies that the world feeds us and instead practice the truth we hear from God.

In America, our world frequently feeds us lies about money. Many of these we recognize: I don't know many Christians who claim that "Whoever dies with the most toys wins," or that buying the right dish soap will bring joy and happiness. But how many lies work their way into our subconscious, squeezing and molding us in ways that we don't even recognize?

Paul says: You don't need to live by the lie. There is another way, and if you let it work into your mind, God will transform your life...

What do you think?
Not all "new ideas" are a good thing. Some are from "this world." Scriptural admonitions warn us against being blown about by every wind of doctrine. But there are frequent reminders that God's call to truth will sometimes be surprising and counter-cultural. What other Scriptures speak to you about the need to be open to change? Is it easier to quote these Scriptures to others, or to take them to heart yourself?