It’s one thing to change your mind, i.e., decide to go in a different direction, change your plans, to think one thing on one day, another on the next, etc. It’s an entirely different thing to change the way you think; the way you look at others, or yourself; the way you think about your world, about God, etc.

Changing your mind is not the same thing as having a changed mind, and there’s not a person on this planet that doesn’t need their mind changed, all of us dealing with thoughts, ideals, and values that are in need of a massive shift. Some of our brains, for example, are constantly sounding the alarm, warning us that danger is imminent, refusing to rest and enjoy life. Some only respect certain people while marginalizing too many others, marinating in a caste system of sorts, working endlessy to make sure its bearer lives somewhere towards the top.

Some simply refuse to engage things like mercy, generosity, respect, etc.

Those aren’t simply decisions that are being made, they are hard-wired into how the mind works.

Many of us believe that something so deeply ingrained can never change, especially in adults. But St. Paul, in his letter to the fledgling church in Rome, thought otherwise.

Actually, he didn’t talk about a changed mind, he talked about a renewed mind, as if the human brain is good, but the world that it swims in has a pattern to it, a way of doing business that can and often does twist our minds into something it was never meant to be. After awhile, a journey back to basics is required, and within reach.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. ~ Romans 12:2

The religious world – the one I’ve been swimming in most of my adult life – frequently takes passages like this and turns them into overtly religious statements, invitations to be even more religious than we were before we read them. So, we often say that the best way to “renew” ourselves is with religious activities like prayer, church attendance, “worship,” etc.

I wont argue that those things are good, but I’ve never seen them “renew” someone’s mind, or release it from the bonds of whatever might be keeping it from a fuller expression and a deeper freedom.

While Paul is arguably one of the most religious people the mind can fathom, he isn’t offering up some religious advice. He simply stated that, if our minds swim for too long in the ideals, perspectives, behaviors, and values of this world, they’ll need to take a step back.

If we can manage that, our minds will be renewed.

Following is my understanding of what Paul meant, and whether or not it’s true.

The Pattern of This World

Another thing that Christians love to talk about is how evil “the world” is. As things like mainstream gender and sexuality are challenged/questioned/revised like never before, many of us are convinced that the handbasket our culture is travelling in has almost reached its final destination. But when we talk about evil in our world, we’re not talking about the evil that exists inside the Christian world, we’re referring to the world outside our walls: that’s where all the evil is. We’re the holy ones. Everything that’s not us is unholy.

But Paul believed that Christians were just as bad as everyone else. He had no problem pointing this out and critiqued his Christian family much more often than he praised them.

In his letters it is clear that “the pattern of this world” that we’re to avoid exists within the church as much as it does without.

And so, he gave some specific advice on how we might avoid “the pattern of this world.” Each of these flies in the face of how the world, both inside and outside of the church, tends to operate:

• • • Do not think too highly of yourself
    • Be devoted to one another
    • Honor one another above yourselves
    • Be joyful in hope
    • If you’re afflicted, be patient, don’t play the victim
    • Faithfully interact on a personal level with God
    • Share with people who are in need
    • Practice hospitality
    • Do not repay evil for evil
    • Bless those who persecute you
    • Be willing to associate with people of “low” position
    • Live in harmony with others
    • Do not take revenge

Note that Paul’s list is focused on things that result in healthy relationships, peace, hope, joy, etc., while the “pattern” of our world is much more geared towards the individual, oftentimes at the expense of relationships, peace, hope, joy, etc.

If I were to create a list opposite Paul’s, i.e. the things we’re supposed to avoid, it would read something like this:

• • • Consider yourself before others
    • Make sure nobody runs over you
    • Be devoted to your success above everything else
    • Honor what is most important to you
    • Place great hope in money
    • Live as though God is in control of nothing
    • Don’t share your hard-earned money and resources, especially with people who don’t deserve them.
    • Practice hospitality only when you get something out of it
    • Take revenge so long as its within reasonable boundaries
    • Cut people off if they become too toxic
    • Avoid people of “low” position, pursue the best cliques
    • Blame, accuse, and villify those who don’t look/think/vote like you do
    • In certain cirucumstances, it’s OK to treat others in ways you would never want to be treated

The Renewing of Our Mind

What I hear Paul saying is that, if I had the perfect mind, then marinated it in the above activities for any length of time, it would change.

If that’s true, relationships would become more difficult, not to mention things like peace and hope. Relaxation would take much work. I would then turn to things like booze, vacations, sex, TV, food; whatever I can get my hands on to relieve the pressure and find some joy.

In Paul’s mind there’s only one path, and it’s not found in adding things, but in avoiding a certain way of life, in removing our minds from things that corrupt it.

Perhaps I’m completely misreading this short statement of his, or twisting the words/taking them out of context/avoiding his meaning/etc. so I can come up with a cutesy blog post. Regardless, what should stand out to the reader is Paul’s belief that the mind can be renewed. That it can be restored to a condition whereby it is characterized by peace, hope, and transformation.

If he’s right, that should excite us. Sure, we’ve got some work to do in figuring out the do’s and dont’s of mind-renewal, i.e., whatever it is that Paul meant by avoiding the “pattern of this world,” but if distancing ourselves from certain behaviors will restore our minds to something resembling their former glory, or at least move them in that general direction, why not give it a try?

The psychotherapeutic seems to agree with the idea that the mind rewires itself in response to certain habitual behaviors. That’s one reason why bad habits are so hard to break – we’re fighting a mind that’s wired itself to keep moving, resistant of change. If I spent most of my life angry and vengeful, for example, then suddenly tried to take up kindness, it would feel impossible – painful even – until I did kindness long enough for my brain to adapt.

According to Hebb’s law, neurons that fire together wire together. In other words, the simultaneous activation of neurons strengthens the connection between them. Hebb’s law is an attempt to explain how we learn and why a complex task becomes easier over time.

According to this, a mind dedicated to humility, compassion, service, peace, and hope will be wired differently than one dedicated to a more contemporary Western way of life.

When I compare Paul’s list of do’s and don’ts to the way our world operates, I see a “people first” emphasis in the former and a “me first” emphasis in the latter. If Paul is right, the best way towards a better mind is to reconsider the idea that others matter at least as much as we do, and that making others happy is at least equally important as our own pursuit of happiness.

I’ve certainly had my mind changed by sacrificing a previously unthinkable amount of time and resources for my children. I can’t say that it’s been a perpetual picnic, but it’s certainly changed my mind about what’s valuable and what’s required for my happiness.

If I managed to extend that beyond my children would my mind change even more?

Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu perpetrated an enormous sacrifice on humanity, arguably following Paul’s list without skipping a beat. Did she manage to divorce herself from “the pattern of this world?” Was she happy and full of hope, possessive of a restored/rewired mind? Consider the following quotes about life, love, and happiness from Mother Theresa:

• • • We fear the future because we are wasting today.
    • Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.
    • A life not lived for others is not a life.
    • Love is a fruit in season at all times and within reach of every hand.
    • Be happy in the moment, that’s enough. Each moment is all we need, not more.
    • If you judge people, you have no time to love them.
    • I’m a little pencil in the hand of a writing God, who is sending a love letter to the world.
    • If you are humble nothing will touch you, neither praise nor disgrace, because you know what you are.
    • Be kind and merciful. Let no one ever come to you without coming away better and happier.
    • One of the realities we’re all called to go through is to move from repulsion to compassion and from compassion to wonderment.
    • Poverty was not created by God. It is we who have caused it, you and I through our egotism.
    • People are unrealistic, illogical, and self-centered. Love them anyway.
    • I know I am touching the living body of Christ in the broken bodies of the hungry and the suffering. Each one of them is Jesus in disguise.
    • We must know that we have been created for greater things, not just to be a number in the world, not just to go for diplomas and degrees, this work and that work. We have been created in order to love and to be loved.
    • I used to believe that prayer changes things, but now I know that prayer changes us, and we change things.
    • Yes, you must live life beautifully and not allow the spirit of the world that makes gods out of power, riches, and pleasure make you to forget that you have been created for greater things.

But she allegedly struggled with chronic depression that, according to her, “Surrounds me on all sides – I can’t lift my soul to God – no light or inspiration enters my soul . . . Heaven, what emptiness – not a single thought of Heaven enters my mind – for there is no hope. . . The place of God in my soul is blank.”

I’ll admit that I’m uncomfortable with the idea that if we follow some formula our minds will bask in a peaceful respite of sorts and automatically renew themselves. Chronic depression, anxiety, and, in general, poor mental health are realities for many of us, regardless of what pattern we might conform to.

At the same time I wonder if Paul wasn’t on to something, i.e., if I can manage to break my mind from patterns that drag it down, will I find freedom? I doubt that I’ll ever be completely free from my problems with depression, but is it possible to turn the dial up a bit here and there?

Nobody should argue that Western culture has many elements that are destructive, especially when it comes to money, future, relationships, identity, and so many others. I’ll leave it to you: what would happen to our minds if we adopted an entirely new way of thinking, one that committed itself to peace, forgiveness, hope, honesty, humility, and the unconditional well being of others.

If nothing else, I believe that a mind like that would be different than the one I have.