1. Not Conforming to the Ways of the World

World Scripture

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Romans 12.2

As a sweet-smelling, lovely lotus may grow upon a heap of rubbish thrown by the highway, even so a disciple of the Fully Enlightened One outshines the ignorant worldly people in wisdom.
Dhammapada 58-59 (Buddhism)

For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
Matthew 16.26

A man came to the Prophet and said, “O Messenger of Allah, direct me to an act which, if I do it, will cause Allah to love me and people to love me.” He said, “Renounce the world and Allah will love you; renounce what people possess and people will love you.”
Forty Hadith of an-Nawawi 31 (Islam)

Do not serve mean ends. Do not live in heedlessness. Do not embrace false views. Do not be one who upholds the world.
Dhammapada 167 (Buddhism)

I have given them thy word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I do not pray that thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in truth; thy word is truth. As thou didst send me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.
John 17.14-18

A complete disregard for all worldly things, perfect contentment, abandonment of hope of every kind, and patience—these constitute the highest good of one who has subjugated his senses and acquired knowledge of Self. No need of attaching yourself to things of this world. Attachment to worldly objects is productive of evil.
Mahabharata, Santi Parva 329 (Hinduism)

Stagnation: To conserve his stock of virtue, the superior man withdraws into himself and thus escapes from the evil influences around him. He declines all temptations of honor and riches.
I Ching 12 (Confucianism)

The sage patterns himself on Heaven, prizes the Truth, and does not allow himself to be cramped by the vulgar. The stupid man does the opposite of this. He is unable to pattern himself on Heaven and instead frets over human concerns. He does not know enough to prize the Truth but instead, plodding along with the crowd, he allows himself to be changed by vulgar ways, and so is never content.
Chuang Tzu 31 (Taoism)

He who has found the Mother [Tao]
And thereby understands her sons [things of
the world],
And having understood the sons,
Still keeps to its Mother,
Will be free from danger throughout his lifetime.
Close the mouth,
Shut the doors [of cunning and desire],
And to the end of life there will be peace
without toil.
Open the mouth,
Meddle with affairs,
And to the end of life there will be no salvation.²¹
Tao Te Ching 52 (Taoism)

Vimalakirti wore the white clothes of a layman, yet lived impeccably like a religious devotee. He lived at home, but remained aloof from the realm of desire, the realm of pure matter, and the immaterial realm. He had a son, a wife, and female attendants, yet always maintained continence. He appeared to be surrounded by servants, yet lived in solitude. He appeared to be adorned with ornaments, yet always was endowed with the auspicious signs and marks. He seemed to eat and drink, yet always took nourishment from the taste of meditation.
He made his appearance at the fields of sports and in the casinos, but his aim was always to mature those people who were attached to games and gambling… He engaged in all sorts of businesses, yet had no interest in profit or possessions. To train living beings, he would appear at crossroads and on street corners, and to protect them he participated in government.
Holy Teaching of Vimalakirti 2 (Buddhism)

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon

If you still carry relationships with the self-centered, fallen world, you cannot walk the way of God’s purpose and Will.
(21:102, November 17, 1968)

The secular world covets wealth, knowledge and power as the most important things. However, these three things cannot connect you to God. What connects you to God? True love.
(270:308, July 23, 1995)

In this world, what people most admire are fakes. Therefore, the genuine article does not come before you straightforwardly. It may appear to you as upside-down… Would you welcome a person who walked on his hands with his feet in the air? Maybe so, but at least he is whole. Would you still welcome him if he were really malformed?
Therefore, the Bible teaches that those who seek to die will live and those who seek to live will die. It means that those who seek to perish will succeed and those who seek to succeed will perish; those who think they are foolish are eminent and those who think they are eminent are foolish; those who seek to live a difficult life will be wealthy and those who seek to live a wealthy life will be beset by difficulties.
(102:251, January 14, 1979)

You should possess an earnest heart, rooted in the eternal world beyond time and space. With such a heart, you should be able to endure, overcoming worldly labors, hardships, and even the fear of death. To gain victory on your individual path, you should be able to deny all attachments, despise all pain, and walk forward with dignity.
(7:97, July 19, 1959)

We will not trade our commitment to God for any amount of gold or all the power in the world. We will not sell ourselves for money, power or women. We are not so cheap. Rather than lead a treacherous life on a worldly throne, I prefer to be unchanging and live as a beggar.
(124:253, February 20, 1983)

Give up your desire for material possessions, your hopes for your children, your love for your spouse, and even your self-love. Do not hold on to these attachments; then you can go beyond the world. Only when you cut off every element within yourself that is conducive to ambition and to human attachments can you become an offering for the sake of the world.
(2:118, March 10, 1957)

Those who cherish their worldly situation and relationships cannot avoid the judgment of the Last Days. To avoid the judgment, you must turn away from the world and escape its ways. You should not follow worldly trends. For this reason, religions teach: “Abandon the world!” “Cut off all relationships with the world!” “Do not associate with the world!” “Don’t compromise with the world!” “Cut yourself off from the world!” “Deny the world and seek higher awareness!” Only people who follow this path will see the dawning of a new ideal. By not compromising with the world, religion cultivates the determination to go beyond the mistakes of the past, press forward in the present, and break through to a new future.
(21:136-37, November 17, 1968)

People who have inherited the satanic lineage characteristically put themselves first. America these days, despite its Christian cultural roots, has become a nation of individualism. With so-called secular humanism, people are confused about their direction in life and seek happiness by external stimulation. What are the consequences? They fall off the cliff as lepers. Men and women love and cuddle with each other day and night, but they are bound to acquire AIDS, wither, and fall.
(187:241, February 11, 1989)