I remember sitting in one of my communication classes in college, and the professor shared something that’s stuck with me ever since. He said that teenagers—especially middle schoolers—are often the driving force behind new slang. They’re usually the first ones using the newest words while the rest of us are trying to figure out what they mean. At the time, I just thought it was an interesting fact. Looking back, I think it points to something much deeper.
Have you ever wondered how kids from all over the country all start saying the same new words around the same time? It’s not because they all got together and decided on a new vocabulary. They heard those words somewhere. They heard them on social media, from YouTube, from a friend at school, or from someone they look up to. Before long, those words became part of the way they talked. They were being shaped by the world around them.
The truth is, that doesn’t just happen with our vocabulary. It happens with our hearts. We begin to think like the voices we listen to. We begin to value the things we’re constantly exposed to. We slowly become like the influences we allow into our lives. The question isn’t if you’re being shaped. The question is, what’s shaping you?
In Jeremiah 18, God tells Jeremiah to go to the potter’s house. As Jeremiah watches, the potter takes a lump of clay and begins to shape it. Clay doesn’t shape itself. It’s shaped by the hands of the potter. The same is true for us. Every day, we’re placing ourselves under different influences. The world has no shortage of voices trying to shape us into its image. But God desires something far better. He is shaping His people into the image of His Son. That doesn’t happen by accident. It happens as we intentionally place ourselves where God can do His work.
That’s why spending time in His Word matters. That’s why prayer matters. That’s why gathering with your church family matters. That’s why surrounding yourself with other believers matters. These aren’t just good habits—they are some of the primary ways God shapes His people.
Here’s the question I want all of us to wrestle with: What’s shaping me? Because something—or someone—is. Every conversation, every habit, every voice you listen to, and every place you spend your time is shaping the person you’re becoming. So let’s be intentional about placing ourselves in the hands of the One who knows exactly who He created us to be.