Key Verse: Romans 12:2, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (NKJV)
Do not copy the behaviour and customs of this world. Do not be part of it or be identified with it or be sucked in the world system lest you begin to behave like them and do things like them. Do not be like the people of this world or imitate them. The world system has their philosophies, culture, traditions and amusements; they have their own television and radio, languages, fashion and idioms, but do not follow them.
The world has its own models. It even has its own ways of marrying. For example, if a girl on the world’s side wants to marry, the man is not interested in paying bride, but goes ahead to live with the girl. Such a man is a thief. That girl is somebody’s child, but he is not interested in paying bride price. So, the girl comes on weekend with a small bag containing may be one skirt, one blouse and some few things. She comes to the young man’s house and sleeps overnight and they commit fornication under the guise they want to marry. The girl hangs her things in the man’s house and leaves for work on Monday and to be back by weekend. She comes back next weekend bringing a few more things, some slippers and some shoes. She keeps them there, very soon she has packed in and they are now living together. She has no parents and nobody is paying her bride price, nobody is saying let me go and see your parents, she moves in there and they begin to live together. Meanwhile, the young man will be planning on how to sack her, a day will come, he will go and call one other lady and the old girl will be ejected. The girl will now know that the man has used and dumped her. This is what the men of the world do.
Everything the people of the world do; they have their own ways. If they want to employ a girl in their place of work, they will say she should go to bed with them. If they want to help a girl in the university, they will say she should sleep with the lecturer. If they want to do election, they will bring thugs to shoot, so that, they can carry the ballot boxes away and sometimes they will not even wait for you to finish voting and they will announce results. If their ladies want to make new dresses, they will put their breast and buttock out and they will be looking to see if there is any man looking at them, that is their way: but it is not your way if you are a child of God because you cannot dress like them.
If any man loves the world, the love of the father is not in him because friendship with the world is enmity with God. As children of God, we cannot be like them; we cannot talk like them; we cannot dress like them and we cannot do what they do. We must understand that we are special people; we are heavenly-minded citizens. We are not of this world and we do not belong to this world system. We have surrendered our lives to Christ and now completely different people. We are people of the spirit and involved in the heavenly race. It is not just about us, but about Christ Who lives in us.
• Today’s Nugget: We Can’t Be Like Them. Prayer: Help me not to be fashioned according to this world system. Prayer lines: 08054477940.
E-mail: servantofgod111@yahoo.com. Rev. Pastor Ejikeme Ejim, General Superintendent, Assemblies of God Nigeria.
