One choice is to be conformed to God’s will and the other is to be conformed to the world.
A man who is conformed to God’s will: 1) delights himself in the LORD and desires Him (Ps 37:4; 73:25); 2) desires to dwell in God’s resting place (Ps 132:13-14); 3) desires the Law of God (Ps 19:10); 4) desires steadfast love and knowledge of God (Hos 6:6); 5) does justice, loves kindness and walks humbly with God (Mic 6:8).
A man who is conformed to the world: 1) delights himself in the things of the world; 2) dwells in places of wickedness; 3) departs from the Law of God; 4) is faithless and practises evil; 5) commits injustice, cruelty and walks proudly without God.
Root causes of sin and desires contrary to God’s will can be found in the two examples below:
#1 Distrusting and disbelieving God Eve was deceived by the devil. She distrusted God’s command by adding “neither shall you touch”, and disbelieved God’s warning, “you shall surely die” by listening to the devil’s lie “You will not surely die”. She was tempted to be like God.
#2 Defying God and destroying fellow man Cain succumbed to sin’s desire when he defied God’s warning (Gen 4:7). He vented his anger on God by killing his righteous younger brother, Abel. “Anger does not work the righteousness of God” (Jas 1:20).
Deceptive human philosophies and oppressive social norms contrary to God’s will continue today.
Only Christ can renew, restore, reset, reboot, change a man’s heart and guard his heart.
God who is Spirit can give us desires that conform to His will. We must have our worldly desires crucified with Christ and walk by the Spirit (Gal 5:16-24).
Elder Yoong Yuen Soo
