Renewing the Mind

A few months ago I was walking down the street with one of my friends when he made a disparaging remark about God. "Hey!" I protested, slightly offended. "What?" He returned in apparent surprise. "You're an atheist too."

"No, I'm not!" I replied, shocked that he would think so. 

But he too seemed shocked. "What?! But like all of your friends are and you never talk about it or anything."

He had me there. And I felt terrible.

I was raised in church. My father is a pastor of a Missionary Baptist church and has been for as long as I can remember. And for 18 and a half years, I went to church three times per week — Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday night — unless I was severely feverish or actively vomiting. I accepted Jesus as my savior when I was nine, and I believed the Bible because I had always been taught that it was God's divine Word. 

But like so many other young "christians" — by name, if not by action — when I want away to college, church fell by the wayside. I would attend worship services on occasional visits back home, but in Phoenix, it wasn't part of my routine. None of the churches in the immediate vicinity were conservative enough to fit with what I believed, and I made only a minimal effort to look for a congregation beyond walking distance and accessible by public transportation. And because church was no longer a priority, neither was independent study. You know the drill: Kid moves away, Kid stops going to church, classes and extracurriculars pile up and the last thing Kid wants to do after reading 250 pages of text for an upper-division history class is read more text.

Until, of course, Kid is accused of being an atheist.

My friend was right: I usually don't talk about my religious beliefs very often. I'm a journalism major attending classes on a campus that consists mainly of journalism majors, all of whom are taught to keep their personal views and beliefs tucked away so as not to alienate any potential audience or negatively color the public's opinion of otherwise solid reporting. But Jesus told his disciples during his Sermon on the Mount, 

Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 5:13-16)

Let's just go ahead and say that city on a hill is my daily life, and the light the city gives off is the image I project as I go about my affairs. The city's light cannot be hid, because every decision I make and action I perform leaves an impression on somebody. The key is to leave an impression — or let my city's light shine in such a way — that people look and say, "Wow. That must be God at work."

I know this, in theory. But there's something missing between that theoretical knowledge and actually putting it into action when my friend assumes I believe there is no God. Until now, that missing piece has been a desire to make God a real, honest priority. 

Paul wrote in Romans 12:1-2,

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

If I am to truly emit a "light" that glorifies God, I must first set aside regular time to "renew my mind" through studying His Word ... something I have never actually done. Like all relationships, a relationship with God takes effort. You don't get results if you're not really trying. And my friend's assumption was a wake-up call that I haven't been trying at all.

How about you? Have you let yourself veer away from regular study? How did you get back on track? I'd love to hear your stories. Comment below or feel free to shoot me a message.