What's Shaping Your Soul?
We live in a world dominated by algorithms. Every click, every search, every pause while scrolling tells the technology around us what we want to see more of. Before we know it, our news feeds are filled with content tailored specifically to our preferences, our shopping habits trigger endless advertisements, and our digital world becomes a mirror reflecting back exactly what we've shown interest in.
But here's the uncomfortable truth: we have a personal algorithm too. And it's shaping us far more profoundly than any social media platform ever could.
The Algorithm You Can't See
Unlike the digital algorithms we've become familiar with, our personal algorithm isn't written in code. It's written in habits, routines, conversations, and repeated experiences. It's the coffee shop you visit every Tuesday morning, the voices you trust when forming opinions, the shows you binge-watch after a long day, and the thoughts you entertain when you're alone with your mind.
Every experience we have, every conversation we engage in, every piece of media we consume—it all stays with us. These inputs don't just pass through us like water through a sieve. They shape us. They form us. They create patterns in our thinking, our reactions, and ultimately, our character.
The Apostle Paul understood this reality two thousand years before smartphones existed. In Romans 12:2, he wrote: "Do not be conformed by the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."
What's fascinating about this verse is the verb tense Paul uses. In the original Greek, both "conformed" and "transformed" are in the passive present tense. This means two critical things: first, these processes are ongoing—they're happening continuously throughout our lives. Second, they're passive—they're happening to us, whether we're aware of it or not.
Formation isn't optional. It's not neutral. And it's always happening.
The Question That Changes Everything
So here's the question that should stop us in our tracks: What is forming me?
Not what do I think is forming me, but what actually, genuinely shapes my thoughts, my desires, my reactions, and my character?
Is it the news cycle that triggers anxiety every morning? Is it the social media feeds that leave us comparing our lives to carefully curated highlight reels? Is it the voices of commentators who reinforce what we already believe rather than challenge us to grow? Is it the comfort we seek when we're tired, stressed, or disappointed?
Some of our formation is chosen. We decide to memorize Scripture, attend a Bible study, or cultivate a prayer practice. We intentionally seek out relationships that encourage us spiritually. These are the votes we consciously cast for the kind of person we want to become.
But much of our formation is absorbed. It seeps in through repeated exposure, through the culture we're immersed in, through family patterns established long before we were aware enough to question them. These absorbed patterns don't ask permission. They don't knock politely and wait for an invitation. They simply repeat until they become part of who we are.
The Power of Awareness
Transformation begins with awareness. We cannot be intentional about what we're unaware of.
Think about your typical day. What's the first thing you reach for when you wake up? Your phone? A prayer? The snooze button? Where do you turn when you're stressed, lonely, or bored? What voices have you given authority in your life—and are they leading you toward or away from the person you want to become?
These aren't judgment questions. They're awareness questions. Because once we see clearly what's shaping us, we can begin to make different choices.
Every thought, every habit, every small action is a vote for the kind of person we're becoming. And those votes add up. Over time, they create the algorithm of our soul—the default patterns that determine how we respond to life's challenges and opportunities.
Renewing the Mind
Paul's command isn't just to avoid conforming to worldly patterns. It's to actively participate in transformation through "the renewing of your mind."
This is where the real work happens. Not in trying harder or mustering more willpower, but in becoming aware of what occupies our mental and emotional space and then intentionally choosing what we dwell on.
What we dwell on shapes our desires. What we desire shapes how we live. And how we live shapes who we become.
The beauty of this truth is that it means everything in life can be part of our spiritual formation. Our parenting, our work, our conversations, even our trips to the grocery store—all of it can contribute to our growth if we approach it with awareness and intention.
Shaped for Others
Here's the ultimate purpose of spiritual formation: we're being formed into the image of Christ for the sake of others. This isn't about becoming better people so we can feel superior or more spiritual. It's about becoming people through whom God can love a hurting world.
When we allow God's grace to transform us, when we intentionally cultivate habits and patterns that align with Christ's character, we become conduits of hope, peace, and love to those around us. Our transformation isn't just for us—it's for every person we encounter.
The Play-Doh Principle
Imagine a Play-Doh toy with different shaped openings. When you apply pressure to the Play-Doh, it comes out in the shape of whatever opening it's pushed through. A triangle opening produces triangles. A circle opening produces circles.
Our lives work the same way. When pressure comes—and it always does—what comes out of us reveals what shape we've been formed into. Stress, conflict, disappointment, even success—these pressures reveal our true algorithm.
The question isn't whether pressure will come. The question is: what shape do you want to be when it does?
Your Algorithm, Your Choice
So what do you want to shape you? What kind of person do you want to become? What patterns do you want to establish in your life?
Maybe it's becoming the kind of person who offers genuine compliments. Maybe it's being someone who truly listens rather than just waiting to speak. Maybe it's cultivating patience, generosity, or courage.
Write it down. Put it somewhere you'll see it. Let it become part of your conscious algorithm.
Because formation is happening whether we're aware of it or not. The only question is whether we'll participate intentionally in our own transformation, or whether we'll simply be shaped by whatever happens to cross our path.
The good news is this: awareness is the first step. And you've already taken it.
But here's the uncomfortable truth: we have a personal algorithm too. And it's shaping us far more profoundly than any social media platform ever could.
The Algorithm You Can't See
Unlike the digital algorithms we've become familiar with, our personal algorithm isn't written in code. It's written in habits, routines, conversations, and repeated experiences. It's the coffee shop you visit every Tuesday morning, the voices you trust when forming opinions, the shows you binge-watch after a long day, and the thoughts you entertain when you're alone with your mind.
Every experience we have, every conversation we engage in, every piece of media we consume—it all stays with us. These inputs don't just pass through us like water through a sieve. They shape us. They form us. They create patterns in our thinking, our reactions, and ultimately, our character.
The Apostle Paul understood this reality two thousand years before smartphones existed. In Romans 12:2, he wrote: "Do not be conformed by the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."
What's fascinating about this verse is the verb tense Paul uses. In the original Greek, both "conformed" and "transformed" are in the passive present tense. This means two critical things: first, these processes are ongoing—they're happening continuously throughout our lives. Second, they're passive—they're happening to us, whether we're aware of it or not.
Formation isn't optional. It's not neutral. And it's always happening.
The Question That Changes Everything
So here's the question that should stop us in our tracks: What is forming me?
Not what do I think is forming me, but what actually, genuinely shapes my thoughts, my desires, my reactions, and my character?
Is it the news cycle that triggers anxiety every morning? Is it the social media feeds that leave us comparing our lives to carefully curated highlight reels? Is it the voices of commentators who reinforce what we already believe rather than challenge us to grow? Is it the comfort we seek when we're tired, stressed, or disappointed?
Some of our formation is chosen. We decide to memorize Scripture, attend a Bible study, or cultivate a prayer practice. We intentionally seek out relationships that encourage us spiritually. These are the votes we consciously cast for the kind of person we want to become.
But much of our formation is absorbed. It seeps in through repeated exposure, through the culture we're immersed in, through family patterns established long before we were aware enough to question them. These absorbed patterns don't ask permission. They don't knock politely and wait for an invitation. They simply repeat until they become part of who we are.
The Power of Awareness
Transformation begins with awareness. We cannot be intentional about what we're unaware of.
Think about your typical day. What's the first thing you reach for when you wake up? Your phone? A prayer? The snooze button? Where do you turn when you're stressed, lonely, or bored? What voices have you given authority in your life—and are they leading you toward or away from the person you want to become?
These aren't judgment questions. They're awareness questions. Because once we see clearly what's shaping us, we can begin to make different choices.
Every thought, every habit, every small action is a vote for the kind of person we're becoming. And those votes add up. Over time, they create the algorithm of our soul—the default patterns that determine how we respond to life's challenges and opportunities.
Renewing the Mind
Paul's command isn't just to avoid conforming to worldly patterns. It's to actively participate in transformation through "the renewing of your mind."
This is where the real work happens. Not in trying harder or mustering more willpower, but in becoming aware of what occupies our mental and emotional space and then intentionally choosing what we dwell on.
What we dwell on shapes our desires. What we desire shapes how we live. And how we live shapes who we become.
The beauty of this truth is that it means everything in life can be part of our spiritual formation. Our parenting, our work, our conversations, even our trips to the grocery store—all of it can contribute to our growth if we approach it with awareness and intention.
Shaped for Others
Here's the ultimate purpose of spiritual formation: we're being formed into the image of Christ for the sake of others. This isn't about becoming better people so we can feel superior or more spiritual. It's about becoming people through whom God can love a hurting world.
When we allow God's grace to transform us, when we intentionally cultivate habits and patterns that align with Christ's character, we become conduits of hope, peace, and love to those around us. Our transformation isn't just for us—it's for every person we encounter.
The Play-Doh Principle
Imagine a Play-Doh toy with different shaped openings. When you apply pressure to the Play-Doh, it comes out in the shape of whatever opening it's pushed through. A triangle opening produces triangles. A circle opening produces circles.
Our lives work the same way. When pressure comes—and it always does—what comes out of us reveals what shape we've been formed into. Stress, conflict, disappointment, even success—these pressures reveal our true algorithm.
The question isn't whether pressure will come. The question is: what shape do you want to be when it does?
Your Algorithm, Your Choice
So what do you want to shape you? What kind of person do you want to become? What patterns do you want to establish in your life?
Maybe it's becoming the kind of person who offers genuine compliments. Maybe it's being someone who truly listens rather than just waiting to speak. Maybe it's cultivating patience, generosity, or courage.
Write it down. Put it somewhere you'll see it. Let it become part of your conscious algorithm.
Because formation is happening whether we're aware of it or not. The only question is whether we'll participate intentionally in our own transformation, or whether we'll simply be shaped by whatever happens to cross our path.
The good news is this: awareness is the first step. And you've already taken it.