“Do not conform 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.”
– Romans 12:2
Your habits form what you love.
At my last grad school intensive, I walked into a room I had never been in before. I scanned the room to find the best seat. (I’ve always been a back-row student.) I spotted a spot at the back table on the aisle, with a clear view of the professor. I set my stuff down and claimed it as “my spot” for the rest of the week. By the end of the day, I noticed each of my classmates had done the same.
Back in the 1700s, someone started calling humans “creatures of habit,” and it’s stuck ever since. For good reason. You can see it in the way we pick seats, how we get ready in the morning, or even how we make decisions. Habits are the building blocks of our lives. Some would even say we are the sum of our habits.
And here’s the thing: habits don’t show up by accident. The world around us is constantly nudging us into patterns. Everywhere we go, something is shaping us. It’s like background programming we don’t always notice.
Some of these environments are intentional, like designers creating apps to keep you scrolling or stores to make you buy more. Others are unintentional, like family rhythms or friend groups that shape us without our even realizing it.
In a capitalist society, major corporations are constantly working to convince us to build habits around their products and services. Sometimes those habits may help us, but often corporations design them to exploit us. Either way, the point is clear: something is always training us. As Paul said, we are being “conformed to the pattern of this world.”
Now, you might push back: “No! I’m a Christian. I’m filled with the Spirit. I’m not being conformed to the world.” But remember, Paul wasn’t writing to nonbelievers. He was (and still is) warning the church not to let the world’s systems, values, and loves shape us. Instead, he offers an alternative: “Be transformed.”
That word means God completely changes you into something new. But notice, Paul doesn’t say “be transformed instantly, in the blink of an eye.” (That day will come when Christ returns.) Instead, he calls for transformation over time through “the renewing of your mind.”
James K. A. Smith, in You Are What You Love, argues that this transformation happens through changing our habits. You could paraphrase Romans 12:2 like this: “Do not be conformed by the habits of this world to live like the world, but let your mind be rewired by the habits of the Spirit.”
Paul connects this rewiring of your mind to discerning God’s will. In other words, your habits shape your loves, and your loves shape your ability to know and walk in God’s will.
So what does this mean for us?
- God made you this way. He knows that transformation is a process. He’s empathetic with you in the slow, sometimes messy work of forming Christ-like habits. Show yourself the same grace He shows you.
- God empowers you to change. His throne is called the throne of grace. Grace doesn’t just forgive; it empowers (Titus 2:11–13). And Hebrews 4:16 reminds us we can “come boldly to the throne of grace” to find help in time of need.
So here’s the invitation:
- What habits are forming you right now?
- How are the environments around you shaping you?
- What Chris-forming habits are you practicing?
- And what new habits might you need to begin?
Maybe this week, take 15 minutes to do a “habit audit.” Identify one worldly habit you need to let go of and one Spirit-formed habit you could put in its place. Bit by bit, God uses these small choices to rewire your heart and mind for His kingdom.
The Randalls 