WWJD?

"I'm not Jesus!"

a member of the Church Council

Once upon a time, in a galaxy not too far away, I needed to make a quick decision - one that required more authority than I had as pastor. The right thing to do was clear, but I needed the Church Council's blessing. A leader made phone calls to all of the Council members - some agreed right away, while others hemmed and hawed until she said "Well, do you think Jesus would vote yes?"
That question always got a quick "Of course." Hearing back, I went ahead with our planned course of action.
At the next Council meeting, one of the members asked to know what the vote was, and we reported that it was unanimous. He said "No it wasn't - I didn't vote for it." Upon recounting the conversation, he admitted "Just because Jesus would vote yes, doesn't mean that I did. I'm not Jesus."

His confession, while surprising, was refreshingly candid. There are times when I'm quite aware that I'm not doing what Jesus would do - I'm not even doing what Jesus would have me do. Neo has decided and publicly proclaimed that I want to follow Jesus, but Oog charges on, stubbornly focused on self-preservation and short-term gratification.
So how can I train Oog? Like a dog. We have a new German Shepherd named Canto. We're currently working on recall: I want him to immediately come to me when I yell "Yo, Canto," regardless of what he's doing at the time. Reasoning with Canto is pointless. He's not impressed by arguments like "Daddy knows best." The only way to train Canto to recall is to practice again and again, each time making his life delightful when he responds to my call. It matters not whether he's been bad or good for the last five minutes; if I call "Yo, Canto!" and he starts coming to me, I make happy sounds left and right, jump up and down like it's the best day in the world, and have a doggy treat ready when he arrives. On the contrary, when he turns away after a call, I growl - and he remembers my existence and realizes something isn't right.
Biologically, my lower brain is pretty similar to Canto's. Training Oog requires having Oog regularly repeat the behavior Neo wants and rewarding Oog, in terms Oog can understand, when Oog follows Neo's plan. We have all done this countless times in our lives. Watch an infant trying to walk: Neo is hard at work, slowly juggling information from the feet, the inner ear, and the eyes, and trying to move dozens of muscles in just the right way to maintain balance and move forward. It's an incredibly complex process, as evidenced by attempts to get robots to walk. But reward is frequent: encouragement from everyone watching and the excitement of reaching new goals. Negative reinforcement is also frequent: falls hurt. And over time, Oog learns the task and takes over, so that most of us don't have to think about walking any more - we just do it.
Have you ever known someone who authentically forgave people immediately, without thinking about it? I've known a few, and their lives are noticeably different. They weren't born that way, but they have been transformed by the renewing of their minds. The work is well worth doing.

What do you think?
Are there specific ways in which your life has been transformed by renewing your mind? How has your life, or that of someone you know, been improved by making a desired behavior become automatic?