It’s common for electronic devices to come with programmed default settings from the factory. If we want them to respond differently, they have to be reprogrammed.
Each of us comes from the womb with a boatload of default settings that affect how we think and live. But many of these don’t work as followers of Jesus and need to be reprogrammed if we are to step into the life He has for us.
Redemption is at the core of who Jesus is. Sin—trusting our ways over God’s and walking to our own drumbeat—is what infected our defaults to begin with. So, dealing with the corrupting power of sin is the first step. That's what the cross of Jesus is all about. But the redemption package also includes a new power, the Holy Spirit, which is none other than Jesus Himself. With His power we can get to work on reprogramming:
Do not be conformed to (pressed into the mold of) this world, but be transformed by renewing your mind so that you may prove what God's will is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2)
This verse starts by telling us something NOT to do: DON'T get pressed into the mold of everything going on around us. DON'T let our thinking be shaped by our friends, celebrities, talk show hosts, or group chats. DON'T take our values from television or social media posts. DON'T even take them from the latest greatest preacher. DO NOT CONFORM!
That's a tall order when we're surrounded by an endless stream of daily impressions. How is it even possible? We find the answer in the middle of the sentence: BUT be transformed by the renewing of your mind. We can keep from being conformed to the things around us by reprogramming our minds with the mind of God.
Now you may say, "Hey, I don't think like everyone else. I'm not some mindless dweeb. I’m my own person and think for myself." Most of us probably think this way, so let's try a little word association game. What comes to your mind when you think of words like success, freedom, authority, happiness, morality, marriage, money, and sex? No doubt your mind immediately goes to something, and there's a good chance it's not original. Whether you realize it or not, somebody or something has pressed you into that mold, and it's become the default of your thinking. So here's the question: Is that default the result of a conformed mind or a renewed mind?
Our defaults as followers of Jesus are not to be set by cultural truth, peer truth, political truth, my truth, or your truth. They are to be set by the truth of our creator, God, and that truth is found in the Bible. Often referred to as the Word of God, it sometimes reads like a user’s manual in its objective and straightforward declarations. Should I lie? No. Should I be generous? Yes. Should I hate my brother? No. Should I engage in sexual relationships outside of marriage? No. Should I honor my parents? Yes. And so on. Just as sure as my car’s manual tells me when and where to add oil, the instructions are clear. Its black-and-white truth is rooted in the character of our Creator and doesn't change with time, culture, or popular opinion.
Sometimes, I hear people complain that the Bible is hard to understand. I get that; it can be. Yet often the bigger problem is that it’s easy to understand, but we don’t like what it says. Pleading ignorance won’t work. We need to renew our minds and reprogram our default settings with truth from the Word of God. That’s what followers of Jesus do, and that’s what makes them think, live, and love differently.