Renewing Your Mind. Romans 12:2

Kevin always fit in. From high school to the corporate boardroom, he wore what others wore, thought what others thought, and said what others wanted to hear. Blending in wasn’t just a habit — it was his identity. He didn’t realize how deep it ran until he hit his mid-thirties and couldn’t recognize the man staring back in the mirror.

He had everything the world said he needed—yet still didn’t recognize the man in the mirror.

He had a successful job in marketing, a well-decorated apartment downtown, and a calendar full of social events. But underneath it all, Kevin was deeply unfulfilled. He couldn’t explain it, but there was a gnawing emptiness that all his achievements, vacations, and weekend parties couldn’t fill.

One Sunday morning, out of pure desperation, Kevin walked into a small church near his apartment. He hadn’t been in a church in over a decade. The service was simple. The music wasn’t polished. But the message hit him hard: “You don’t have to be who the world says you are.”

One verse. One moment. That’s all it took to begin a journey of transformation.

It felt like the preacher was talking directly to him.

The next few weeks, Kevin kept coming back. He didn’t understand everything. He still had doubts. But there was a spark — something deep inside that felt awake for the first time in years.

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

It struck him. He had been conforming to everything around him — chasing trends, opinions, and shallow validation. But what he really needed wasn’t more approval from people. It was transformation. And that would only come from within — by letting God reshape his thoughts.

So Kevin started small. He stopped scrolling through social media every morning and began each day with scripture. He started journaling about what he believed versus what the world expected. And slowly, his patterns changed.

He found that when he stopped conforming, he started transforming.

Now, a year later, Kevin is mentoring young men who feel just like he once did — lost in a world that constantly tells them to be something they’re not. He shares Romans 12:2 every time. Because for Kevin, that one verse started the journey that changed everything.

Romans 12:2 (NIV)“ 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.”