Counter Culture
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God— this is your true and proper worship. 2 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 12:1-2
I choose to live counterculture.
I am sure one of the most ‘perplexing’ things to my husband about me is that I do things in the dark a lot of times, especially in the mornings. Most times, I get up before my alarm goes off and I just stumble into the kitchen, put on the cooker, start making breakfast, all in the dark.
He finds it amazing, and he asks always, “Why are you working in the dark?”
It’s odd to him. For me, I do it routinely. I know where everything is in my kitchen, I could close my eyes and get everything done. I don’t even remember that I am moving around in the dark!
Why is it so difficult for me to put the light on? It’s not even a tough thing to do, I just haven’t given it much thought.
Isn’t that how we behave sometimes?
We just go with the flow of the things that are happening around us without giving it much thought.
[Grow spiritually with our ROOTED Mom Spiritual Growth Study Series Here]
To live in denial is counterculture, in a world that says you should do whatever pleases you.
“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. Don’t hit back; discover beauty in everyone. If you’ve got it in you, get along with everybody. Don’t insist on getting even; that’s not for you to do. “I’ll do the judging,” says God. “I’ll take care of it.” Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he’s thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. Don’t let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good.”15 15 Romans 12:1-2, 17-21 MSG
How easy it is to follow the culture of our environment. Our natural response to situations around us is usually to respond the way things are done wherever we find ourselves.
This scripture above tells us that we should take our everyday, normal life, and hand it to God as an offering. Don’t allow yourself to be so used to the way those around you do things. Understand the way God wants it done and do it that way. God is telling us to follow His own culture today. Don’t get carried away by the things happening around you.
For example, the natural inclination and response is to hurt someone who has hurt you in the same measure or an even greater measure. God is giving us another code to live by. He’s saying to us:
“Don’t Insist on getting even, just leave it to Me to handle”.
Are you hurting from something someone has done to you? He’s saying, “Leave it all for Me to Handle.”
“She was my best friend”, you say.
God is saying:
“It doesn’t matter, hand over the pain to me. Let me take it up.”
Choose to put on the light, Stop Working in The Dark!
Prayer Moment
Dear Lord, I thank You for today and I bless You because of Your word that instructs me daily.
I pray that You guide me continually, and perfect all that concerns me.
Help me to live a life of denial of my personal pleasures to bring glory to Your name.
Whenever I feel like life is tough, and I want to choose the easy way out, help me to remember that Your way is the better way, in Jesus’ name.
– Amen
Love
Oluseye