By Lisa Wilmore
My Dear Friends in Christ,
Jesus has set a standard of living for persons who have accepted Him as their Lord. Biblical writers were inspired by the Holy Spirit and penned the necessary guide for our daily living. God’s principles of living for the believer are written to teach us how to live our lives according to His values and belief system. Therefore, if God has set a standard of living for all persons who believe in Him, it befits us to study and understand His expectations and “not be conform” to the world nor its way of doing things. With this in mind, we must decide that the world’s way is off-limits to those who have wrapped their hearts around the only true and living God.
In the book of Daniel, Daniel was faced with a challenge to conform or not. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon took many of Jerusalem’s wisest men and brought them in the palace to be used for his benefit. Among those he chose were Daniel and the three Hebrew boys. Daniel and his friends were faced with the problem to conform or not when the king appointed them daily provision of his meat, and wine, which he drank.
Nevertheless, Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine that he drank: therefore, he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself (Daniel 1:8). Like Daniel, we must commit in our hearts, soul, and mind to conform “not” to the world’s way, but do things God’s way.
Daniel and his friends decided not to conform to the king’s wishes and his customs. They did not hesitate to stick with their convictions, even before the temptation was offered to them on a silver platter. My brothers and sisters, there will be times when we are faced with decisions that are totally against the will of God. However, as believers in Christ, we must decide before situations arise that we will not conform. We must draw the line and let the world know that we will not conform to their ways.
Even though we are positioned in places where people do not obey God’s Word, He does not grant us permission to conform. God has called us to be a light. Therefore, we must “decide not to conform”, even before the temptation arises.
