Jesus essentially told us John 17 that we are to be in the world but not of the world. In other words, we as Christians have to live in the world and amongst the world. I mean, where else are we going to live? But we should not be of the world, which is to say that we should not be like the world.

But that’s hard, isn’t it? I mean, we are so highly interactive and so easily influenced that we, without even realizing it, take on characteristics of people around us. For instance, people often say that husbands and wives increasingly look like one another over the years. Why is that? Well, it’s because they interact with each other and influence each other so much that they begin to unconsciously mimic each other. They tend to use the same facial expressions, have the same mannerisms, and wear the same style of clothing.

We just seem to easily take on the character of our surroundings. That’s why we find it hard to be in the world but not of the world.

But Apostle Paul gives the key to doing this successfully in Romans 12:2. He says, “Do not be conformed to this world [in other words, don’t be of this world], but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” You see, your mind is the key to not being of the world, not being like the world. You need a renewed mind, a mind that loves what Jesus loves and hates what Jesus hates. A mind that sees yourself and other people how God sees them. A mind that believes what is true as revealed by God.

So, if you want to be different from the world like Jesus has called us to be, fill your mind with the Word of God and ask the Holy Spirit to renew your mind and to use that to change your life.

Change begins in you!