"My Preference Or His Will"

"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." Romans 12:2

"And be not conformed to this world". How do we conform to this world? According to the scripture above it comes through your thought process. What we think does matter. Like it has been said, "Where the mind goes, the man follows". You are what you think and you will do what you think and dwell on in your thoughts.

The thinking of the world is "preference". To those in the world it is all about "me", which includes doing what I prefer to do instead of what I should do. This influence would try to cause us to do the same-- choose what we prefer over kingdom principals, choose what we want instead of what God wants, choose our will above God's will, choose what is acceptable to us instead of to God.

Choosing according to your own preference instead of according to the will of God, will always lead you downward instead of upward. It will always lead you into darkness and away from the light. It will always lead you into a place of confusion, discouragement and depression instead of into a place of peace and rest.

When we choose our own preference instead of God's preference and will, we are saying that we know better for ourselves than God does. We deceive ourselves if we think that. David chose to follow the lust of his flesh and commit adultery with Bathsheba instead of following God's word. He preferred to gratify the desire of his sensual appetite over the desire of God. He certainly didn't do the best thing for himself. He suffered and so did his family for his choice to do what he preferred at that moment.

How do we stop choosing our own preferences and start choosing God's will? The answer is also given in the verse above- renew your mind. Renew it with God's word. Renew it through praise and worship. Fill it with God's thoughts and His preference. Hide His word in your heart. Choose to apply it to your life. Stop allowing the world's influence into your thoughts. You do this by turning off the television when programs that would "indoctrinate" you with the world's philosophies are on. You stop listening to music that "preaches a message" that only builds your selfish desires. The more you remove the "worldly" influence from your thoughts and replace it with "God's" influence the less you will be conformed to this world, and the less you will put your preference above God's preference in your life.

Have a great day. Conformity to this world means that you put your own preference above God's will.

For further reading:
Proverbs 23:7
Philippians 4:8
2 Corinthians 10:5; 4:4
Ephesians 2:1-3; 5:1-10

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Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell
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