Use your Brains

 This article was written in honour of the Brain Awareness Week 2015,enjoy the read. 

"Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity".Romans 12:2  (J.B.Phillips)
2 "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God". Romans 12:2 King James Version 


Growing up, the phrase "use your brains" was usually used to alert one to not allow emotions cloud common sense.In the medical school, we were taught that medulla oblongata referred to only a part of the brain and were awed about the complex processes that  took place in an organ of its size.

This morning as I studied, the phrase "be not conformed" caught my attention in Romans 12;2.I looked it  up in a  the concordance and found out that to be conformed means "to change outwardly, to do so without thinking, just to be part of the blend , usually it does not take effort,a passive reflexively"but the next change in the verse is be transformed which means a "change from the inside out,change after being with".Conform comes from the Greek word "suscheimatizo" which is used only twice in scriptures unlike transformed which  comes from another  Greek  word,"metamorphoo"and has several references.

The reason for this  I believe is that God is interested in our consciously changing our minds(although our spirits are born-again, our minds which is the seat of our emotions is  not),in a change that comes from the inside based on the word of God. This is more likely to be permanent and if we notice carefully, in this process the verb is by the renewing of our minds. Renewing  as we were taught in Grammar is a continuous tense. It is not a once for all event, but a process that takes place on a daily basis .No matter how beautifully dressed we are today, there will always be a need to use the mirror before we step out of our houses tomorrow. This mirror can be likened to  the word of God which helps us to correct ourselves (James 1:22-24).

It is not always easy as it is actually  requires less work to conform, blend and just be part of the crowd. This may take place sometimes by the way we imbibe the world's culture and mannerisms as depicted by the media.But for any child of God to make a difference anywhere,then transformation must be the watchword. I am not advocating that we behave like weirdos although to be honest,the Christian walk will always  be a bit strange to a non-believer.

The brain is the human computer and whatever we put in is what we will get,although this might not be in the exact form as imputed.The goal of transformation is that  as we prove what is we prove what is good,acceptable and perfect,we  become like Jesus(2 Corinthians 3:18) which is the work of the Holy Spirit via the vehicle of the word of God.The more of the word of God we allow into our spirits and practice, the more we are likely to be transformed and become more like Jesus.

In His Service,
Grace Tom-Lawyer