Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.** Romans 12:1-2 (NIV)**
Our lives are the product of our lifestyles. What we do - how we live this one life we are given (and accountable to God for BTW) - demonstrates what we believe is truly important. Ouch. What are we conforming ourselves to? A shopaholic, a substances abuser, a chronic goer or a chronic stayer at home, a sports enthusiast, a knowledge seeker. a travel diva, or a “whatever” enthusiast we might be – we become like what we pursue and seek to spend our time on. The wise man tells us in Ecclesiastes 7:18B (NIV): “The man who fears God will avoid all extremes.”
Our freedom of choice – or rather our lack of constraints - can often get us into a spiral of demise, Amen? We falsely think we are free yet we end up in chains of some sort or at the very least wasting our lives on what will never make it through the fire that will test the quality of each man’s work. We are a servant to whatever we obey. And our Lord Jesus simply tells us: “Follow Me”. Our lifestyles are to be a set of practices that “guard our habits and guide our lives” as Andy Crouch beautifully defines. You can deem them Spiritual Disciplines, or Rules of Life or Visions and Values or whatever you may call them – yet, if they do not match what Jesus tells us we are going down the wrong path.
In lieu of being formed by the world we are to seek to have our minds renewed by the Spirit setting our hearts and minds on things above. Hard to do in this world we are living in – it must be intentional. But it has always been intentional no matter what generation one has lived in. The world is loud and Jesus is the still small voice. The Prophet Isaiah states in Isaiah 40:3 (NIV) regarding the Baptist long before his time and relevant to us today as well: “A voice of one calling: ‘In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.’” In our deserts of spiritual wilderness we too must make way for the Lord. Believers are to be infiltrating the world not the opposite of that. And how do we, as believers, do this? We learn to walk like the Master – taught by His Word, empowered by His Spirit and giving Him the glory. This is how the original disciples changed the world and we can do likewise. We are to choose carefully how we live.
Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. Ephesians 5:15-17 (NIV)