A New Year – A New Way of Thinking by Rocky Fleming

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”  Romans 12:2 NLT 

Do you make new resolutions at the beginning of the year, only to break them about February, or sooner?  We make them for we think there’s a good reason for change, so we “resolve” to make those changes.  But if they are so good, why do we give up on them?  Maybe it’s a lack of commitment or conviction, and other things get in the way, pushing them back from a priority to optional?  Maybe it’s too hard, and the sacrifice is not worth it?  I get that.  Been there.  But what if you had a new resolution that is guaranteed to be life changing and life betterment.  Guaranteed.  Would that do it?  Would that make it worth the effort?  I think you would agree it would be.  So, what is it?  Where am I going with this?  It’s about the way we think and where it leads us.  It can either lead us to bad, corrupt, and anxious thoughts, or it can lead us to hope, joy and peace.  But it begins with our thoughts. 

There are enough positive-thinker gurus to make a case about how negative thoughts cancel out positive thoughts.  They hang out on a strategy to simply not go there, and to discipline oneself from the negative thoughts by finding some kind of happy zone, like Happy Gilmore.  Unfortunately, they don’t have an answer for dealing with the reality of conditions that drive us into depression or anxiety other than don’t think about it.  That doesn’t do it for me.  We can’t hide reality behind a curtain of illusion and think that the truth will not come out.  No, I want something more realistic than what I can dream up.  I want the reality of God’s intervention, even though I have to wait for it.  That’s where I’m taking us. 

In the passage above we see a new way of thinking that is not tainted or filtered by the customs of this world.  You would be surprised how the culture we live in filters into the way we think.  As a child growing up in Mississippi I was exposed to a culture of prejudice, legalistic religious rules of behavior and so on.  Many of those southern cultural norms were good and still carry on in me. Some were bad and needed to be eradicated in my way of thinking. But my culture did not exemplify the ways of the world, only the ways of my world in the South.  As I grew up and out of my home culture I began to have a broader world view.  However, even a world view can have political or economic bias.  I want something better than that.  I want a Biblical world view.  I want to filter my birth culture and my political and economic world view into a homogenous thought process that is driven to one thing.  How does God want me to view this?  What does He think of it?  I believe in essence that this is what Paul was saying in the selected passage.   

When Paul wrote about the behavior and customs of this world he was saying to not let those things influence our thinking.  To do this we must decide what voice we will listen to.  Will we listen to the voice of this world or to God?  How do I know each voice, for there is so much deception out there with false teachers and shrewd communicators?  To me it becomes an issue of the heart.  To learn to listen with our heart rather than our instincts is the beginning of knowing God’s voice.  Let’s start with God’s word, for that is where we hear His voice best. 

My son, do not forget my teaching, 
    but let your heart keep my commandments, 
for length of days and years of life 
    and peace they will add to you.  Proverbs 3:1-2 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, 
    and do not lean on your own understanding. 
In all your ways acknowledge him, 
    and he will make straight your paths.  Proverbs 3:5-6 

With all my heart I believe that the great discipleship work that the Holy Spirit does in the life of His child is to work on our hearts.  It is the critical connection point to learning God’s voice and knowing that it is He who we are listening to.  Therefore, if we are making new year’s resolutions, let’s allow God to change our hearts so that we can tune out the other voices in this world and listen to Him.  I believe that this could be the best decision we will make this year.