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“Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
- John 3:3 NIV
The biblical phrase “to be born again” is another way of saying “to transform yourself,” or perhaps more accurately, “to be transformed,” because often these transformations come from outside of ourselves rather than being something we consciously do ourselves. In any case, we are called as Christians to be constantly transforming ourselves. Part of the transformation is simply to rid ourselves of sin and bad habits. One way we do this is simply to start doing good deeds and acts of kindness while working to avoid sin, and to avoid situations that might lead to sin. The Catholic “Act of Contrition” ends with the following: “I firmly resolve with the help of Thy grace to sin no more and to avoid the near occasion of sin.”
The near occasion of sin is anything that might tempt us to sin (going to a bar for a recovering alcoholic, for instance). We should also keep in mind that there is no free lunch. When we say and do anything, this imprints on our brain and increases the chances that we will say or do it again. In the same way, taking drugs changes our brains and makes it more likely that we will be driven to use again. If you’re trying to be born again, or reinventing yourself, start by changing some aspect of your behavior that you don’t particularly like or value. But be open to the deeper transformations that comes from outside of yourself, and particularly, from the urgings of God for you to change.
– Christopher Simon
