Conform or Transform?

Our world rewards conformity. Gordon MacKenzie worked for Hallmark Cards; on the side he did creative workshops with kids. After a couple of years, he began conducting a test on students. The results were amazing. When first grade students were asked who among them were artist, nearly the entire class raised their hands. The question was asked again when the students were in second and third grades. By second grade only half the kids raised their hands, and only one-third of third graders did. By the time they were asked in sixth grade, only one or two kids saw themselves as artist. Where did their passion go? What happened to their artistic beliefs? His premise. Education and culture were killing imagination; there seemed to be an intentional drive to push people toward “normal.” Today conformity is the norm. We’re taught everyone drinks, has premarital relationships, and supports unbiblical lifestyles. These lies of conformity are not new, in fact, they go back to the time of Christ. If you were religious, you conformed. Don’t eat this, don’t go there, wear this, act this way… 613 rules! Jesus went against the grain; He was the definition of counterculture. If we are to come alive and really live, we must invite and encourage one another to live spiritually bold. If I could relive on facet of my life, I would have stopped trying to please others and live up to their expectations early on. I would have accommodated the Spirit earlier and leaned into its power more intently instead of trying to conform to religious traditions. Living God’s dream means allowing the internal presence of the Spirit to have more power and influence than the external pressure of those who want to drive us into religious conformity. Romans 12 says it well, don’t conformed to this world but be transformed. How? Intensely pursue and yield to God’s Spirit!