The Pattern of God Versus The Pattern of the World

The Pattern of God Versus The Pattern of the World

Romans 12: 2 Do not conform any longer 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.

The ways of the world have a pattern. They are easily discernable. They do not contain anything of God. They may appear logical, rational and sane but that is only when judged by the standard of man. When the world judges the world, we can expect the world to give its ok. But it is of no value to us as believers. It is fraught with the path the enemy wishes us to take and will end only in opposition to God. We know this as believers yet still we see far too many Christians leaning into the world to borrow here and there. Even Christian leaders can fall prey to leaning to the understanding of the world instead of acknowledging God in all they do. The lines get blurred and when push comes to shove, we can be easily confused as to what to do, or how to resolve a given problem. We forget as the key verse above points out that we need only to test and approve what the will of Almighty God is.

Because God too has a pattern to His ways. He has a will for our lives and the Bible guides us into that pattern. He does not ask for, nor does he need help to achieve His plans and His will. He simply requires faith. You have to believe. Oversimplification? Sure but it is man that makes God more difficult than He really is. He has told us that we will not necessarily understand:

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. - Isaiah 55:8-9

Yet we can still not believe or consider God and instead seek our own explanations and solutions. We can still turn to the world and the experts of man. When we have exhausted the worldly solutions, God will still be God and He will still be waiting. The Old Testament tells a story about Naaman who was a commander of the armies of the King of Aram. He was highly regarded by man but he suffered from leprosy. Naaman sets off to Israel to be cured of his leprosy and takes with him the logic of the world; ten talents of silver, 6,000 shekels of gold, and ten sets of clothing to give to the King. The Prophet Elisha steps in and instructs Naaman very clearly to wash himself seven times in the Jordan River and his flesh would be restored and he would be cleansed. Naaman reacts with the logic of the world:

But Naaman went away angry and said, "I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn't I wash in them and be cleansed?" So he turned and went off in a rage. - 2Kings 5: 11-12

Naaman had his own understanding of how he would be healed but God had a different pattern. That pattern started with Naaman dropping his pride and believing that God would heal him according to the prescription He devised. The logic of the world told Naaman that the Damascus Rivers were better than the Jordan. But he relented and was cleansed.

Yet we can react like Naaman when presented with a problem. We can reflect instead to the logic of the world. We can seek out the experts to world has to offer and use circular reasoning to excuse it. Just because God creates all mankind that does not mean that everything man creates is beneficial or of God. Yet I have heard just such rational from well intended Christians who have let too much of the worldly logic infect their Christian pattern.

King Asa of Judah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. He turned Israel away from the foreign idol-gods that so often plagued them. He tore down the high places and cut down the Asherah poles. When facing uneven odds at war, Asa called out to God and God delivered him and Israel. The Bible says because Asa sought the pattern of the Lord, that God gave him rest on every side. The Bible also tells us that Asa's heart was fully committed to the Lord all of his life. Yet toward the end of his life, Asa started to rely on some worldly thinking instead of the Lord. When Baasha, King of Israel came against Judah, Asa sent silver and gold from the Lord's treasuries to the King of Aram to convince him to break treaty with Israel to force Israel to withdraw. The ploy worked but this was the logic of man, not God. Asa had not sought the Lord in this undertaking. I am sure it seemed to make sense and was strategic but this was the result:

At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him: "Because you relied on the king of Aram and not on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand. Were not the Cushites and Libyans a mighty army with great numbers of chariots and horsemen? Yet when you relied on the LORD, he delivered them into your hand. For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war." - 2Chronicles 16: 7-9

This was the beginning of the end for the reign of King Asa. Despite having a heart fully committed to the Lord the world had infiltrated his approach to resolving problems. It would cost him his life:

In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was afflicted with a disease in his feet. Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek help from the LORD, but only from the physicians. Then in the forty-first year of his reign Asa died and rested with his fathers. - 2Chronicles 16: 12-13

I am sure in Asa's mind it was logical to turn to the physicians. As logical as it appears to some today to rely upon the solutions of the world before God. But God does not want us to rely upon our own understanding, the logic of the world, or the latest fad. He wants us to rely upon Him and Him only.

This brings us back to our key verses from Romans. The Apostle Paul is speaking directly to how we can know the perfect will of God. That is exactly what we need when faced with the trials life throws at us. We can chase after the latest solutions or the path that makes the most sense to man but in the end what we truly need to know is the perfect will of God. That is attained by the transforming of our mind. What is God saying? The battle between the pattern of God and the pattern of the world is fought in our minds. King Asa had a heart that was fully committed to God his entire life the Bible says so. Yet towards the end, the logic of the world crept into his mind and he lost sight of the will of God. The Apostle Paul speaks to this in his letter to the Church at Colosse:

I want you to know how much I have agonized for you and for the church at Laodicea, and for many other believers who have never met me personally. I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God's mysterious plan, which is Christ himself. In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Colossians 2: 1-3 (NLT)