If you had an enemy that was bound and determined to ruin your life, would you choose to spend a lot of time with them? Hopefully, you would realize that for your safety and your future, you are better off avoiding that enemy, right? We would never intentionally put ourselves in a situation where our lives, our families, and our future might be at risk.
Would we?
The reality is that many Christians place themselves in this precarious situation all the time. We do indeed have an enemy that is bound and determined to destroy us. He is called the “ruler of this world” and the “god of this age.” His name is Satan and he hates you because you belong to God.
We “spend time” with him when we decide to allow ourselves to be conformed to the world system that he rules over. This is the reason that Paul said in Romans 12:1-2 that we should “not be conformed to this world” but instead “be transformed.” If we choose our own way and the way of the world, we might as well be strolling down the road with our mortal enemy.
Believers were made to be different. We were saved to stand out and live in a distinctive way. As we start a new year, lasting change in our lives is dependent upon our refusal to conform to this world, and our refusal to take a walk with our mortal enemy.