Be Still And Know

Romans 12.2 NLT 'Don’t copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.' Every day our thinking is being shaped by our society. Most of the time we are totally unaware that this is happening but there is no way that we can avoid being influenced by the expectations and standards of the people around us, by the information and views that we receive through the media, and by ingenious and attractive advertising. We won’t swallow all of it whole, but there is no way in which we can be immune from those many powerful influences. As J B Phillips put it in his famous Bible translation, we need to resist the world’s attempts to squeeze us “into its own mould”. The apostle Paul said that what was needed was for God to transform us by changing the way we think. This is incredibly radical but without it we will continue to be the same as we have always been.