It’s a bit disheartening to suggest, but it appears some verses of Scripture require the last half of the verse be contingent upon the first.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2 ESV

What does it look like to conform to the world? Another translator says of Paul’s words;

Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God… Romans 12:2 The Message

Walking through Chip Ingram’s True Spirituality, and hanging out a bit in his chapter discussing this verse, one soon is approached by this prayer he shares, “Father, help me not to let this world squeeze me into its mold, but transform me from the inside out as I meditate and apply Your Word to my life.”

Is our refusal to be sucked into the world’s mold a daily battle every believer must engage? Do we just naturally conform to the world without this effort? What signs are evident in our lives that identify us as having conformed to the world? This is a thought-generating read Mr. Ingram has written.