Post from July 26, 2023

”👟 RSD 1184 ✅ Today’s Verse: “Do not conform 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 12:2 (8+4=12:1+1=2)

Here is Romans 12:1-2 from The Message: “So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.”

Do you ever look at old pictures of yourself and think, “what was I wearing?” “Why is my hair like that?” “What’s up with that eyeliner?” “What were we thinking?” But, in all these pictures, you’re smiling, happy with the moment in time. Perms. Mullets. Trucker hats. Over-plucked eyebrows. Those polo-style shirts paired with the skirts from American Eagle. Pooka shell necklaces. Certain tattoo trends. Windbreakers—oversized ‘80s/‘90s windbreakers…even the pants…in those totally tubular/fly colors…made that sweet swish sound. Kristen Cavallari side bangs. Various sock trends. Pantyhose. Various shorts trends. Eyeshadow woes. The sequined purse you’d carry. Shoulder pads. Scrunchies…but not the sleek way the GenZers wear them. Belt bags…but not the sleek way we’re wearing them now. Did I mention hair? 80s/90s hair? For you GenXers: Members Only jackets/Frankie Says Relax shirts. We look back at photos and laugh because some of it is a little ridiculous, a little embarrassing, but we still love to look at them because we’re so happy in the photo and those are great memories with friends and family. In that moment, there we were, dripping in the latest trends in solidarity with the rest of our generation, and we felt fabulous. Hey, living it up in “the emperor’s new clothes” is pretty harmless and just makes for some fun memories. A little nostalgic embarrassment is fun to look at with both new friends and those who were being trendy alongside you. Some of your friends you made in adulthood probably have similar photos of themselves. After all, being trendy is all the rage. Isn’t it? What we adorn ourselves with on the outside doesn’t really decide who we’re going to be long-term. Trends are just expressive, fun. But, what happens when trends aren’t just your mom making sure to roll your bangs in that ‘90s Polaroid and making sure your sailor dress with the big sleeves was on point for the photo? What if trends decided more than what was on the outside? What if the trends around us via the actions and habits of our friends or our favorite celebrities actually did get to decide who we’re going to be long-term? Think about if you lived your life by the trends set in the examples of others in your school days. Some of your favorite celebrities are selfish and greedy, don’t value service or education, and have a record of hurting others with their words and actions…(but they’re cool, right?). Some of your friends are into making fun of others for sport, ostracizing people they deem uncool, cheating their way through school, and they, too, approach the world with either indifference or contempt. So, all of the trends deciding who you’re going to be focus only on self-importance and instant-gratification. Looking back on those photos would only show a mean person staring back at you, happy in the moment because they gained value from greedy pursuits or putting others down. And, you thought that perm was embarrassing…

Today’s verse advises us to focus our priorities and our self-discovery not on things that are trendy, but things that are true—the things of God. “Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God.” Now, God gets our attention in different ways and does send us some awesome role models. You can probably think of people now, even as an adult, who possess and exude qualities you’d like to emulate. These are probably leaders in your community, a national or international public figure who elevates giving back into a lifestyle, and (hopefully) some of your good friends. And, you’re like, “You literally just gave this caveat on celebrities and school friends.” That’s still true: some of the people you encounter are definitely not driving the bus you want to hop on. But, some of our friends and favorite celebrities are doing their best to live good lives. How do we know who to listen to? That’s where the “follow God” part comes in. We know what God wants us to do; Jesus tells His disciples (and us too) in John 13:15, “‘I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.’” As we discussed on RSD 1153, this was what Jesus was saying upon washing the feet of His disciples. He was serving them lovingly, even though, as their teacher, He was of a higher status and should be the person getting His feet washed. Jesus is clear about what the expectations are to achieve some ground on our journey to be who God wants us to be. Be loving—serve; be faithful; be hospitable; be honest; be gentle; be compassionate; show goodwill; be humble; be kind. Those last two reminded me of that country song, “always be humble and kind,” and it’s some good advice…check it out.

It’s our job to do our best to focus on these things. When we recognize the things of God, we know who our role models should be. The role models God puts in our lives are there to help us get ideas on how we can cultivate the aforementioned qualities in ourselves. We can’t just copy: their gifts are not our gifts (everybody’s good at different things, and nobody’s good at everything), but we can take note of the hearts of our role models and their consistent effort to do good, and we are afforded more examples of what following God looks like…and, we can return the favor in mutual trust. It’s said that “teamwork makes the dream work,” or better yet: “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another” — Proverbs 27:17. Now, we can’t really accomplish this with those people we don’t know (e.g. our favorite celebrity), but we can with our friends. As friends, we uplift and encourage each other, and our different gifts shine through. One friend might be a natural problem-solver who is always looking to do good work, while the other is naturally service-oriented and easily recognizes opportunities to help—both come together to serve those in need in a meaningful way. One friend might be naturally friendly (always looking to include people), while the other friend might be naturally adventurous (and inspires confidence in others)—they team up and notice a person in their peer group who maybe doesn’t know many people, and they make a new friend feel like they belong. One friend is brave (always willing to reach out, even when they might feel awkward, because it’s the right thing to do), while the other friend is good with words and with sentiments for a given situation—both team up for the right approach to reach out to a mutual friend or coworker who is having a hard time. Think of how a good children’s book often has both an author and an illustrator, because, for small children, both are needed to tell the story.

1 Corinthians 12:4-6 tells us, “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.” In developing our own gifts through prayer and practice using them, we are also to encourage this development in our friends as well. Following good leadership isn’t the same thing as following trends; we know what kind of actions reflect what God wants (maybe not perfectly, but we generally can get the idea). Following good leadership means recognizing different God-given gifts in different people and doing our best in using their influence to highlight our own. In turn, hopefully we’re living in such a way that they can be encouraged by our journey as well. God sends us ordinary role models in our lives via friends and loved ones, but He has also sent some more extraordinary examples of people who give us inspiration (e.g. the Saints), or, even more so, the friend and role model we have in our Savior Jesus Christ. Ever heard the hymn? 🎶”What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!…Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere? We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer.”🎶 It’s literally the perfect set up (well, think of Who did it). We have the examples in the Bible, and, if we are unsure of what to do or where to go next, we can ask Jesus for help. He knows exactly the path we should be on. So, when we concentrate on the example Jesus set for us, on our own gifts (the ways we can do good), and on the things (like the common good) that God wants us to focus on, “[We]’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what He wants from [us], and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around [us], always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of [us], develops well-formed maturity in [us].” Recognizing what God wants from us can be difficult, and sometimes we’re not sure, but God wants us to lean on Him for guidance. He sends us words and signs, via the Bible and prayer, and from the people He sends our way.

So, what do you like about your good friends? Are they confident, yet have some humility too? Are they encouraging? Are they smart (not meaning just academics—they can flat-out just figure things out)? Are they joyful (you know, you’re around them, and it’s like you’ve met sunshine)? Are they compassionate? Are they gentle and understanding? Are they good counselors? Are they good at meeting goals (and using that quality to encourage and inspire others)? Are they faithful? Are they funny (and use it to lift people up)? Are they wise? Are they strong (and can inspire others in this effect)? Are they honest (in a good way)? Are they talented (and use those talents for good)? Are they trustworthy (they show up for people)? Are they resourceful? Are they a “doer” (as in they see something that needs to be done, and they serve)? Are they peaceful (in such a way that they facilitate this peace in others)? Are they loving? Now, ask yourself this: what do you think your friends like about you? See, sometimes recognizing our gifts is hard, but seeing it from the perspective of someone else affords us a better grasp. What do your friends like about you? In that answer, you will find something that God gave you to be good at, something to use to do His work, something that transcends “the pattern[s] of this world”—because we know that God sees this world the way nobody else can, the way only the Creator can. Only God knows every truth about the world and our perfect place in it. So, why would we follow anything that we know isn’t the way God wants us to live? Hey, following what God wants isn’t easy—it’s a lifelong journey on a path with a lot of man-made potholes (hey, city budgets, am I right?), but, each time we trip in one, we can always go to God for forgiveness and for help in doing better next time. By paying attention to what is right and good instead of what is trendy, we can do our best to live in such a way that, years down the road, looking at our smiling faces in the digital photos we take today evoke memories of times we spent doing our best to do good…and maybe also a little chuckle that we actually brought fanny packs back into style.

Today’s photo is from sticking the iPhone camera in one of those small, plastic picture/kaleidoscope things from Astroworld in the ‘90s.”