Read: Romans 12:2 & Matthew 6:33
Women are constantly pressured to conform. It starts in girlhood when the dolls we play with don’t resemble real women, and the characters presented to us are too concerned with boys and appearances. It follows us into adolescence as we become obsessed with whether we’re as pretty as the girl who sits next to us in class or the one on the cover of a magazine. We may play around with sin so others will like us or approve of us. After all the damage is done, we’re expected to enter into adulthood confident in ourselves, knowing what we want to do with the rest of our lives. We’re still asked to conform in our appearance, but now we’re also asked to conform to other worldly patterns. We’re expected to hold a career, family, home and friends together without freaking out or falling apart. We often become controlling, trying to hold a tight grip on the many parts of our lives we feel need to be perfect.
“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). We don’t have to conform to the world’s way of living. We should take care of our bodies and care about how we present ourselves. We should strive to have order in our homes, children who behave, and success in our jobs. The difference in women who have a relationship with Jesus and those who don’t is those who are living for Jesus don’t have to hold it all together on their own. They rely on Jesus for their needs and daily living.
Let Jesus renew your mind and have control of your life. You don’t have to live as the world lives, putting on a false exterior, trying to control everything. “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33).
