Do Not Do as They Do

Scripture: You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices. You must obey my laws and be careful to follow my decrees. I am the Lord your God. Leviticus 18:3-4

Observation: From the beginning, God has been clear about his expectations for believers: You are to be different. As Paul put it in Romans, "Do not conform to the ways of this world, but be transformed."

Believers are always to remember this from the very beginning of the Jews with Moses. Believers do not do what society does. Instead, they do what God tells them to do. And why? Because ... the Lord is our God.

Application: Where am I conforming to the ways of the world right now? In what parts of my life am I "normalizing" myself in society in a manner that is not in alignment with the instructions of Jesus Christ?

I continue to dwell on Romans 12 as a teaching for my life. I am to be a living sacrifice. That means giving up those elements of my life that are not of God, and doing only what he wants of me.

My anger and stress is a significant area where I am failing at this. I am expected to bring a certain level of intensity to my job, and to care about certain things that are effectively specific to societal norms. I am expected to worry about those things, and to dwell on them in order to solve problems. This isn't just about doing a good job to fulfill my 'holy vocation', but about a society expectation.

What I DON'T do is surrender these cares to God, to pray about them, and entrust God to support me on my way through them. Jesus tells us to surrender our cares to him, and I do not do that. This is a first and easy way I can not be like the "Canaanites" around me, but instead can demonstrate a different model of life ... and become a light of Jesus to those around me.

Prayer: Lord, I know I am blessed to be a blessing. So today, I trust that blessing and surrender to you my concerns and stress of work. I trust you to give me words to coach staff and assist them. I will remember that deadlines are man-made constraints on my life, and things will be completed in your time, by your will, for your purposes ... which even includes IT projects. I will follow your commands, because you are my Lord, and I believe in and trust your love. Amen.