What’s wrong with people today? Why do we claim to know God but refuse to follow His Word? I mean, seriously, the one verse that seems to get the most attention, but not in the way you’d think, is Romans 12:2. You know the one—it’s plastered on every bumper sticker, framed in countless homes, and quoted by people who can’t seem to live it if their lives depended on it. But when it comes to actually practicing what it says, most people treat it like a suggestion, not a command.
“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, NIV).
It’s simple, right? Don’t fit in with the world, renew your mind, follow God’s will. It’s almost too clear. Yet, it’s ignored, dismissed, and straight-up trampled on by a majority of folks who claim to follow Christ. And why? Because people would rather mold their lives around the world’s comforts, pleasures, approval, and the endless parade of feelings, opinions, and influenced idolizations that have replaced true devotion to God.
Feelings, man. We’ve turned them into little gods of their own. If it feels good, it must be right. If it feels hard, it must be wrong. This whole culture is wrapped up in the idea that feelings trump everything, including truth. People are more interested in feeling validated, accepted, and “seen” by the world than being obedient to the unchanging authority of God. The moment something challenges their feelings, they abandon it. And guess what? That’s exactly how Romans 12:2 gets tossed aside.
And then there’s opinions. Good grief, have you seen how people treat their opinions? We live in an age where personal opinion is treated like divine revelation. People hold their beliefs so tightly that they’re willing to rewrite scripture in their heads to match whatever worldview they’ve decided is true this week. It’s laughable if it weren’t so tragic. But here’s the thing—God doesn’t care about your opinion if it doesn’t line up with His Word. Truth isn’t up for debate.
This whole “live your truth” nonsense is the exact opposite of what God calls us to. People love to spout off their opinions, influenced by everything from social media trends to their favorite celebrity, and think it’s the equivalent of wisdom. But here’s a newsflash: If your opinion contradicts scripture, it’s wrong. End of story. There is no such thing as “my truth” and “your truth.” There’s just God’s truth, and Romans 12:2 lays it out pretty clearly.
And idolizations? Don’t get me started. We’ve turned everything into an idol—success, comfort, popularity, even spirituality in some twisted sense. People have idolized the idea of “spirituality” without actually being obedient to God. They want all the feels and experiences, but none of the surrender. None of the hard stuff. And the world feeds it. It tells you that success is defined by how many followers you have, how much money you make, or how popular your opinion is. But all of that is just an illusion. It’s empty, it’s fleeting, and it’s a distraction from what God is actually asking of us.
We’ve become a people more concerned with how we’re seen by others than how we’re seen by God. We want to be liked, approved of, and celebrated. The problem is, the world’s version of approval almost always requires compromising biblical truth. The very thing Romans 12:2 warns us not to do is the thing we’ve become experts at. We’ve conformed. We’ve bowed down to the idols of approval, comfort, and self-righteous feelings. And guess what? It’s leading people straight off a cliff, all while they pat themselves on the back for being “open-minded.”
Let’s be real for a second. We live in a world that’s obsessed with fitting in. Everywhere you turn, there’s some new trend, ideology, or cultural pressure to squeeze yourself into. And it’s not just the world outside the church. Nope. It’s right in the pews too. Believers who should know better are adopting the same mindset. We’re raising generations of people who believe that as long as they believe in some idea of God, that’s enough. They don’t need to dive into the Bible, study it, or, heaven forbid, obey it.
But here’s the thing—God’s Word isn’t some buffet line where you get to pick and choose what looks good and skip over what’s too hard to swallow. Romans 12:2 isn’t just a motivational quote; it’s a mandate. The moment you start conforming to the patterns of this world, you lose your footing. You lose your grip on what it means to follow Christ.
The world says, “Be yourself, follow your heart.” But the Bible says, “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked” (Jeremiah 17:9). The world says, “Do what makes you happy.” But Jesus said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me” (Luke 9:23). The world says, “Truth is relative.” But Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).
You see the disconnect here? The truth is, this world is corrupt and decaying, and if you allow yourself to be conformed to its patterns, guess what—you’ll decay with it. But that’s not even the worst part. The worst part is that so many so-called Christians don’t even realize they’ve done it. They think as long as they go to church on Sunday and slap a Christian bumper sticker on their car, they’re good. Meanwhile, their lives look exactly like everyone else’s. They blend right in, and no one can tell the difference.
But God calls us to stand out, to be different. In Matthew 5:14-16, Jesus tells us that we are the light of the world, a city on a hill that cannot be hidden. You can’t shine for Christ if you’re too busy trying to blend into the world’s shadows. So, where are we missing the mark? The moment we decide the Bible is optional, or that we can bend scripture to fit our lifestyles, we’ve already conformed. And the worst part is, when we do that, we’re no longer living as transformed people.
When was the last time you renewed your mind? Not just read the Bible because it’s your daily duty, but actually allowed the Word of God to change you, from the inside out? That’s what transformation is—an internal change that produces external fruit. Jesus said in Matthew 7:16, “By their fruit you will recognize them.” Look around. What kind of fruit are we producing these days? If the fruit is rotten, you can bet it’s because we’re not rooted in the right soil.
Transformation doesn’t happen because you go to church, sing some songs, and then leave feeling good about yourself. It happens when you submit to God’s authority and let His Word change you. Every. Single. Day. Psalm 1 tells us that the blessed man is the one who delights in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night. But who’s doing that these days? Most people can barely get through a chapter before they’re back to scrolling social media, consuming all the garbage the world feeds them.
And that’s the kicker. You can’t renew your mind if you’re constantly filling it with junk. If you’re more influenced by what the culture is saying than by what God is saying, you’re going to miss it. The Apostle Paul wasn’t kidding when he wrote about the battle of the mind. It’s the frontline of spiritual warfare, and too many of us are losing because we’re too distracted or too lazy to pick up our weapons.
Ephesians 6:17 says, “Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Notice what it calls the Word—a sword. A weapon. Yet, most Christians treat it like a decoration. We hang it on the wall, quote a few verses, but we don’t wield it. We don’t let it cut through the lies we’ve bought into.
The reality is this: If you’re not being transformed by the Word, you’re being conformed by the world. There’s no middle ground. We’ve got to wake up to that fact. The world will always try to squeeze you into its mold, and it’ll succeed if you let it. But God has a different plan. A better one. His will, as Romans 12:2 says, is good, pleasing, and perfect. But you’ll never know what that is if you’re too busy chasing after what the world says is good.
Look, let’s stop playing games here. If you’re not living transformed, you’re not living the life God intended for you. Jesus didn’t die on the cross so we could keep living like the rest of the world. He died to save us from it, to pull us out of it, and to make us into something new. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” Are you living like a new creation? Or are you clinging to the old ways, too afraid or too comfortable to let go?
Don’t make excuses. Don’t justify why you can’t let go of certain things. It’s not that you can’t; it’s that you won’t. But here’s the deal—if you’re serious about following Christ, there’s no room for halfway. Jesus said, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62). You’re either all in, or you’re not in at all.
Romans 12:2 is a wake-up call. It’s telling us to stop chasing after the world and start chasing after God. And guess what? It’s not just a call to be different for the sake of being different. It’s about discovering God’s will for your life—the good, pleasing, and perfect plan He has for you. But you’ll never know it unless you renew your mind and let Him transform you.
Stop ignoring Romans 12:2. Stop blending in. Start standing out for the right reasons. Because when the world is dark, the last thing we need is more people contributing to the shadows. We need light. Be that light.