Do not conform to the pattern of this world (….) – Romans 12:2 (NIV)
As a child, do you remember adults warning you about the dangers of “peer pressure”? Later, as an adult, did you notice that peer pressure is still a force to deal with? Whether spoken or unspoken, it’s a power that keeps trying to squeeze us into a mold to look, dress, talk, think and act like those around us. The Bible calls it “the pattern of this world.”
Some say, “That’s just harmless culture!” However, “culture” has the same root word as “cult.”
The Epoch Times had a recent article by Barbara Danza, “Setting Up Your Finances to Be a Stay-at-Home Mom.” It interviewed financial expert Jade Warshaw, who with her husband managed to pay off $460,000 in debt. Here’s one snippet:
Q: What are the most common mistakes you see families make when it comes to managing their money?
Ms. Warshaw: “We live in a toxic money culture. Debt has been normalized. We’ve got to have it now. So I don’t think it’s so much about “mistakes” people make as it is falling into the mindset that broke is normal. Some of the decisions people make, like buying new cars with outrageous car payments, actually rob families of their future. You’ve got to stop being normal because normal sucks. (Emphases mine.) Stop believing things like ‘you can’t go to college without borrowing money’ and ‘you’re always going to have a car payment.’ Reject those things.”
Just because something is “normal,” popular, or widely-accepted, doesn’t mean it’s right, healthy, or helpful. (In fact, more often than not, it’s the very opposite!) One translation of Romans 12:2 puts it this way: “Do not allow this world to mold you in its own image. Instead, be transformed from the inside out by renewing your mind. As a result, you will be able to discern what God wills and whatever God finds good, pleasing, and complete” (The Voice).
The word for you is: Instead of letting the world squeeze you into its mold, have your thought life transformed by the renewing of your mind, and you do that by studying and applying God’s word, the Bible.
S.D.G./S.G.D.
