Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2 ESV

What if I told you that you’ve conformed? Either in big apparent ways like culturally celebrated sin or in little more unnoticeable ways like the current fashion trends. You’ve patterned yourself after the world. The cultural current is stronger than we think, and we’re all floating with it. 

So how do we end up here, floating along? Well, we jump into the water with our minds. We make millions of choices every day in our minds about what we think is good or acceptable. Unfortunately, the enemy is a crafty liar. He whispers to us that the things of the world are actually good, acceptable, and perfect. And if he wins our mind, he wins our heart. Just like Proverbs 14:12 says, There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. Before you know it, you're swept into the cultural current. Unless… 

Unless something is stronger than the flow of the world. Unless something can overcome it, or rather Someone. Good news, Jesus overcame the enemy. He fought him in the wilderness and all the way to the cross by clinging to what is truly good, acceptable, and perfect. Now, He’s poured out the same Spirit on us. Empowering us with a renewed mind, a complete transformation. The transformation of a renewed mind is stronger than the world's conforming power. So why do we still conform?

Well, a dead fish goes with the flow, but an alive fish swims upstream. Conforming is passive. Transforming is active. So, we will be transformed and our minds renewed when, and only when, we give our minds over to Christ and not to the world. Soaked in prayer, rooted in what’s true, being transformed into the image of Christ. 

Don’t go with the flow. Swim upstream.