• Originally published July 4, 2008 at 1:09 a.m., updated July 4, 2008 at 1:09 a.m.

I think the reason so many people are conformists in their everyday lives is not necessarily that they like what they are doing. It’s just easier to “go with the flow” instead of trying to stand out from the crowd.

We all feel that powerful urge to conform at various points. If you are feeling that push to conform – whether at school, at work, at home, or among your friends – I want to give you a glimpse today of something that I believe is a better way to go.

I have found a very powerful and motivating verse in the Bible that has become for me a call to take that better way, to climb higher than where I am. This verse is found in the New Testament book of Romans, chapter 12 verse 2: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

You can’t help but notice the contrast in this verse between being conformed and being transformed. What the writer, the Apostle Paul, is saying is that if we are going to experience the best that God has for us, we cannot simply make our way through life trying to avoid being different or making an impact. The idea of being conformed here means to be squeezed into someone else’s mold. That’s the perfect picture of the kind of conformity I’m talking about: people being stamped out like cookies from a cookie-cutter so that we all look, think, and act the same.

According to Romans 12:2, the one who wants to squeeze us into a mold is not necessarily a person, but “the world.” This term is often used in the Bible for the prevailing system of thought and action in a culture that, more often than not, is hostile toward God and tries to squeeze Him out of the picture as is squeezes everyone else in to a particular way of thinking.

I for one think this is a pretty good description of the mindset of today’s culture. That’s why so many people in places like government, education, business, and the arts are trying to literally blot out any visual or verbal reference to God in our culture. And anyone who speaks His name publicly is looked at as if to say, “What is wrong with you?”

My friend, I’m not telling you anything new when I say that this cultural pressure to conform is really powerful. But let me tell you something else just as powerful that you may not know. When you decide that you want God’s best in your life, and that you are tired of other people trying to squeeze you into their mold, God will meet that desire with His amazing power that will give you the strength and even the desire to take some exciting new steps in your life.

Does that sound like something you want? Just give God your heart, ask Him to show you the plan He has for you, and determine that you will follow Him one step at a time.

Pastor Jim Graff is the Senior Pastor of Faith Family Church in Victoria. www.faithfamilyvictoria.com

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