Latest / Beliefs, Ballots, And BullDawgs / Thursday July 16, 2026
Transcript
- Greg: Hey, what's up everybody? It's Thursday, July 16th. I'm your host, Greg Miller, and this is Beliefs, Ballots, and Bulldogs. Today we want to examine a topic of who's teaching you how to think, not what to think, how to think. Every single day somebody's trying to shape our minds. The news wants to shape our minds. Social media absolutely is trying to shape our mind. Politicians are trying to shape our mind. Advertisers are trying to shape our mind. Hollywood trying to shape our mind. And even the people around you, the people you spend the most time with are absolutely shaping the way you see the world. Well, here's the problem, and and most people never stop long enough to ask, Who am I allowing to disciple my mind? Today's ⁓ passage comes from the book of Romans, chapter 12, verse 2. It's a very familiar passage. 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. If if we you know think about this, Paul Paul begins with a command. It says, Do not be conform to this world. Now let's pay attention and and let's notice here what he doesn't say. He doesn't say the world has no influence because he assumes that it does. Paul knows that that every culture has has a current. Everything is constantly flowing. If if you're not intentionally swimming towards Christ, Then you're naturally gonna drift in whatever direction the the current takes you. Nobody accidentally becomes more like Jesus. It's it's work. Transformation is intentional. Conformity is automatic. Conformity just happens. To transform yourself takes work. And that's why Paul begins with this warning and tells us do not be conformed. He is he is telling us to be careful by by paying attention to what's shaping you. So those those. Break down to those, those are our two choices. We are either conformed or transformed. Conformed means you're just being pressed into someone else's mold. You you begin to value what the culture values, you you fear what the culture fears, you celebrate what the culture celebrates, and you'll end up despising what the culture despises. Before long with it without even realizing it, your your entire worldview starts to look less like scripture and more like your current surroundings. ⁓ Transformation is is something entirely different. Transformation begins on the inside. Transformation happens when God changes your heart, which will then change your mind, which will then change your decisions, which will then ultimately change your life. The gospel doesn't intend to just make us nicer people. It it makes us new people. And and let's let's be honest for a little while. The the the greatest battle in in our country today isn't just political, it isn't just economic, it's not just Cultural even. It's it's a battle for the human mind and the and the the human spirit. Every notification on our phone is is competing for our attention. Every headline on the news is is competing for our emotions. Every algorithm as we're scrolling is just trying to keep us engaged a little longer. And none of this is because these things want what's best for you. It's because your attention has become one of the most valuable commodities in the world. And the question isn't whether or not we're being influenced. Believe me, we are. The question is who's doing the influence and in what direction are they sending us? You know, w one of the one of the saddest things I see today is is people becoming just more and more emotionally attached to commentators than they are scripture. And and I find myself like there are there are certain Bible study podcasts that I listen to on the regular. And sometimes I start to wonder, am I getting more attached to To the individual and their presentation and and their personal spin on things, more so than just the scripture itself. You know, we've we've reached a point where so many of us just spend hours every day consuming other people's opinions, and then we only spend a few minutes trying to sit still and hear from God. It's n it's no wonder that anxiety is is on the rise. It's no wonder that anger is rising. It's no wonder that that the division we see is is so bad. I'm I'm not telling you to ignore current events. We've talked about it on here all the time. Christians should be informed. We should care about our communities. We should be involved. We should think deeply. But there's a difference between being informed and being formed. If if the news shapes your heart more than God's word, well, that's hard to get out. If the news shapes your heart more than God's word, then something's clearly out of balance. You know, this is this is a message that that as parents, you know, this this is a message that needs to begin in our home when when our kids ask, hey, what are you watching? Well, maybe maybe we should ask, hey, what's what's shaping your heart? That children aren't just learning facts from us, they're they're learning values, they're learning what success looks like, they're learning what truth is, what love is, what courage is. If if we don't intentionally disciple our children, ⁓ someone else gladly will. And and the same is true for us. You know, Paul doesn't say here, he doesn't say try harder. He says be transformed by the renewing of your mind. And this means that that the transformation begins before the behaviors are present. It it begins with what you believe. When when the scripture becomes the standard, everything else in your life will will start to find its proper place. You begin asking different questions. You don't ask, you know, hey, what does everybody else think? But you ask what's God's opinion? What would God say here? You don't ask, hey, will this decision be popular? You ask, will this choice make me faithful? Not it's not, can I get away with it? It's more, does this honor Christ? And that's that's what happens when you have that renewed sense of mind, when when that transformation internally occurs. And and before we start pointing fingers entirely at just the culture, we we need to examine ourselves a little bit here. It's you know, what do I think about all day? What what consumes my attention? What determines my mood? What voice do I actually listen to and trust? Because eventually you your thoughts will become your actions and your actions will become your habits. And your habits will become your character. And your character ultimately will become your legacy. So here's the challenge this week, and it's, you know, before you open your favorite news app, open your Bible. Before you listen to another person's opinion, listen for God's voice. Before you let the world tell you what matters, let the creator of the entire universe remind you what's going to last forever. Don't let the loudest voice become the most trusted voice. Let God's word be the lens through which you see everything. Paul wasn't calling Christians to withdraw from the world, although sometimes I know that's what we want to do. He was calling us to think differently while living in it. And that's our calling. Be engaged, be informed, be courageous. But never allow the culture to become your compass. The world will always have another headline, another controversy, another crisis. But God's truth will and always has and always will remain unchanged. And so ask yourself today, what what is it that's shaping my mind? Because whatever shapes your thinking will eventually shape your life. As always, guys, get in your Bibles, say your prayers, love one another, and tell the truth. God bless.