"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."

Don't let the world shape you. Wow, that's a hard one to follow. It reminds us that our thoughts are one of the most dangerous places for spiritual battles. We are constantly given messages that distort God's truth and holy values. This makes us think in a sloppy way, which is more than just sloppy—it's dangerous. But instead of getting angry when people in the world act like people in the world, let's change by renewing our minds and doing what Paul said he did: take every thought and word captive for Christ. We often think that a tithe is giving ten percent of our money, but an even more important tithe is giving ten percent of our completely undivided thought time to the things of God.

God's amazing mercy and grace are what make us want to be holy. We give ourselves to God because He has already shown us how much He loves us by sending Jesus to die for us. We worship Him when we give ourselves to honor Him. We praise Him because we don't want to live like the rest of the world. As we do these things over and over again, God's will becomes even clearer. With the help of the Spirit, we change every day to be more like Jesus (2 Corinthians 3:18) as we show more of God's character (Galatians 5:22-23).