Renewing the mind…or “You want me to what?”

The sincerity and the exasperation in Diane’s voice surprised me when she pleaded: “Would you please stop parking ugly in the driveway?” Hmmm.

I grew up in Donelson, TN in the 1950’s and 1960’s.  I’m not sure we ever even used the term “landscaping”.  Grass was just something you hoped did not grow too quickly. Shrubs were called bushes and were only used to hide the concrete block foundation under the brick siding.  My driveway was mainly for basketball, and cars were to be parked any way necessary to insure the games were not disrupted. So any importance of the outside appearance of my home was pretty much lost on me. And I am sure that the term “curb appeal” had not yet been coined.

In the forty six years that we have been married, the number of things that Diane views much differently than I do has become quite obvious…and that number continues to grow. Just for example: I never knew that you are risking illness or even death if you touch the handrails when going up or down stairs. I didn’t know that leaning against the wall while talking to a woman was flirting. I learned that there is only one acceptable way to put a roll of toilet paper on the holder; that beds should be “made up” every day; and that dogs had to be walked on a leash. I thought drinking from a milk carton was ok…that eating cake batter was a special treat. In fact, the list of foods that once were fine for me has shrunk to a very short one. Don’t even get me started on the clothes I’m allowed to wear. And then there was the unacceptable way that I sometimes parked in the driveway.

In order for our marriage to work, and it has worked very, very well, I have had to change the way I think ( or don’t think ) about a lot of things. That’s not a bad thing, it’s just different…thinking differently and acting differently with a new mindset that was required because of our new relationship.

So, if I needed to change my mindset to make my new marriage work, it shouldn’t be surprising that I need a new mindset when I enter a new relationship with Christ. And as that relationship grows…a continually renewed mindset that results in changed behaviors. My thinking and my behaviors must be different. I can’t think the same way and act the same way if I truly let Christ rule in my life.

I think we are clearly given this charge in Romans 12:2. “Don’t be conformed to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds so you can figure out what God’s will is…what is good and pleasing and mature.” CEB

And in Ephesians 4:23-24 “…renew the thinking in your mind by the spirit and clothe yourself with the new person created according to God’s image in justice and true holiness.” CEB

There is so much depth to this whole thought, this instruction to renew our minds by the spirit. I have a lot of thoughts and questions about it for sure. But for now, I just want to thoughtfully, prayerfully consider this:

Has my thinking really changed…is it being changed…by allowing, by inviting the Holy Spirit to renew my mind.

Am I thinking and acting differently than the patterns of thought and behavior going on in the world around me because I have joined in this relationship with Christ?

Or am I still parking ugly in the driveway?

How about you?

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