1 Peter 2:14-16 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires of your former ignorance. 15 But as the One who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct; 16 for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy.
Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
Paul starts his comparison in Romans 12:1 where he “beseeches” the brethren to be living sacrifices. Peter uses the term “obedient children.” Both imply a willing, compliant participant in their situation. Peter invokes the family picture while Paul is more focused on a discipleship scenario. Both involve commitment of will and release of control to another authority. I would covet the designation for myself as a disciple or part of the “obedient children.”
After the classification or qualification phrase, Peter and Paul continue with the proscription. “Do not be conformed.” Conformed is translated by another as “being squeezed into a mold.” (Phillips) We can visualize that. A popular children’s toy in the past was play doh and some forms or molds. The kids would press the shapeless mass into the template and then express the final product out onto the table. The play doh was now the shape of its mold.
There are a lot of forces, or molds, if you please, that attempt to shape our lives and reality to fit their objectives. “Do not be conformed.” Notice that Peter designates the “shapers” as our ignorant desires. The operative, and blessed word here, is former. We have been released. How? By transformation.
Paul continues with an alternative tactic, the prescription. “Be transformed....” You control the result. His method is by “renewing your mind.” Too often we feel “trapped” in our circumstances.
Andy Stanley has a study that talks about this. He used an example of a greedy person. When asked to give, the greedy person responds, “I cannot give. I am greedy.” He will probably use a more polite “cover phrase” but it essentially means this.
And what is the solution for greed? Giving. We often break the power of our vices by doing the opposite. That takes an act of the will. We have to know what to do and determine to do it. We have to renew our mind. We must stop saying, “I am (you fill in the blank),” and use that as an excuse.
Personal example. I am out of shape. I need to exercise. But when I start, I inform myself that the stepper or Nordictrack makes me tired. Well, duh. I am out of shape. How do I get into shape i.e, not get tired so easily? Walk on the Nordictrack. I have to change my thinking to overcome the “rut” that I am in. And again, this transformation is based on a renewed mind. I decide to do it.
Paul says to renew your mind with the intent of being transformed. Peter implies that by banishing “ignorance.” And how does Peter combat ignorance? He appeals to the “One who has called you.” He is holy. Instead of being ignorantly forced into a destructive form, we choose to act with holiness. I decide to be holy.
This is not a self-help plan to escape bad habits, etc. It is a structured response to temptation. “I have to sin, because I am a sinner.” This is the common response to an alluring temptation. But a renewed mind can respond, “I am called by the Holy One, to be holy. I have a choice. I choose to be holy.”
We are not the victim of circumstance, trapped in an untenable situation. We can choose to “get into shape.” I am starting with five minutes a day on the machines. It will go up as I get “less tired.” Every habit begins with a deliberate decision to change.
And in our spiritual lives, we have the identical option. If we let the world shape our responses to life, it will be an unholy mess. We can choose the “shape” of our lives by following Peter and Paul. Do not be conformed, be transformed.
Are you conformed or transformed?
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