CWW Week 18 - Day 2 - A Work In Progress

Scripture.

Romans 12:2 (NKJV)

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

Devotional.

This verse encourages us not to conform to the patterns and values of the world but to undergo a transformation through a renewed mindset. This renewal allows us to discern and live out God’s will, which is described as good, acceptable, and perfect.

How do we become conformed to this world? If you think about it from the perspective of garbage in, garbage out, then it gets right back to what we spend our time beholding or bathing in.

Media plays a key role in our daily lives and therefore it is undeniably a major influence. Is it good for us? Do we need to know everything that is going on in the world?

There is no doubt that much of what we see, read and listen to is garbage and we are feeding on it and bathing in it as if it were truth. So who involves themselves in media?  Well we mustn’t generalise here but the major driving forces behind media are greed, ego and control. Nothing elevates an ego more than knowing one is being observed by the multitudes. You only have to look at a lot of the on air personalities and watch their faces to see that they are getting off on it. News anchors [interesting label that] seem to have such an air of authority. You have to wonder just how much knowledge supports that authority.

Who produces the garbage? Well it all becomes sobering when we understand that all the news really is, is some editor sitting at his desk everyday deciding what it is his boss wants you to worry about day in and day out.

Advertising revenue feeds the greed of the media company owners, who rely on our desire to consume in order to feel happy and look successful. In their outstanding book Affluenza, Clive Hamilton and Richard Dennis describe a world where too much is never enough. They make the assertion in their book that fifty percent of the worlds top psychologists are paid big money by corporate advertising firms, to con people into buying things they don’t need, and the remaining fifty percent is trying relentlessly to  undo, in clinical practice, the damage done by the first fifty percent.

When we see that by the time your child is six years old, the television will have spoken to him/her more in that six years than their father will in their entire lifetime, we can see why we are in such a mess. Why is the father so not present in their children’s lives? Because they are working too hard to pay off a debt they could never afford so they could look successful and feed the desire of their children to look like the other kids who’s parents are on the same treadmill.

Relationships are another driver of worldly conformity. There is an old saying; “If you hang around with dogs you get flees.” I love dogs but the truism of that comment is hard to deny. “It’s easy to look like and eagle when you are surrounded by turkeys.” Peer pressure is another conveyor belt feeding in the garbage. It is most important that we choose our friends wisely. Discernment is important as we sort the sheep from the goats in our lives; the real friends from the acquaintances. God speaks to us through our relationships with others and with Him.

My relationships have been reduced to strong partnerships in life. My friends hold me to account because they love me and I do the same for them. Quite a few that fit into this category are not professed Christians but they embody the principles of christianity often more so than many so called christians I have in my life.

A Christian can be described as someone who desires to embody Christ in their lives. You should be able to see Christ like tendencies in their journey. Sadly I know too many Ians. These are christians without Christ.

As a work in progress it is important that we embrace quality in the renovation work rather than quantity. We must allow our project manager, the Holy Spirit, to advise us on discernment. Then as we surrender to the Holy Spirit every day, He will bring the right people to our path and put a spotlight on those we need to avoid as we seek to clean out the garbage from the job site, renewing our minds in prayer and applying the standards of Jesus into our thinking. Discernment is a valuable tool if used correctly. It must be applied with compassion and love; It must be free to look for possibilities and it must be grounded in love of others and not of self. If our discernment is couched in the knowledge that no one is perfect, not even us, then it will seek the good in others and ignore the garbage.

We must remember who Jesus spent most of His time with. He chose those who knew they were sinners and in need of redemption. He lived on earth living the principle of never looking down on others unless He was helping them up.

The apostle John writes;

John 17:14-16 (NKJV).

“I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.”

This passage reflects Jesus’ prayer for His followers, highlighting a distinction between living in the world and being influenced by its values and temptations. It suggests that while we are to live in society, we should not adopt its ways or values.

To live like this we must surrender to God’s will for us, all the while remembering that we are not perfect but a work in progress.

Questions.

1. Are you spending too much time at the garbage dump?
2. Have you noticed how much of todays media has affected your life and purpose?
3. Are you ready to have the Holy Spirit as your project manager?

Prayer.

Dear Lord, Papa God.

If I am to rebuild I need you to show me where to find the best quality materials and labour. I spend too much time looking into the shopfronts of the world and not enough time looking to You. I desire for my new home to be of the highest standard so Papa please set me on the right path. Grant me discernment and grace in the same package and lead me to completion with you for eternity is my prayer in your precious name. Amen.

Have a great day with Jesus.

Graham Hood.