How much should Christians accommodate ourselves to the culture?

I plan on material of a more spiritual nature next week. These thoughts on the intersection of faith and culture are possibly specific to modern Western culture -- which is where I live, so no apologies there, but not as timeless as I'd rather.  

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Whatever the changing cultural understanding may be, it is by definition not timeless truth. 

Each person is part of surrounding culture. We will each be immersed in it, possibly have the culture's definitions of right enmeshed with the Biblical view. Yet it is not our Biblical calling to promote a specific culture, justify it, or entrust our judgment to it, much less award it the same standing as the word of God. We are to be in the world but not of the world: ambassadors of the kingdom of heaven. 

Becoming apologists for the culture surrenders our ability to transform that culture, to be "salt and light". Christians cannot lose our awareness that we live in a fallen world in need of guidance and grace, and that our own culture is no different in that need for redemption. It has always been so, and will be until our Lord's return. Those most devoted to a particular culture are those most at risk of mistaking their culture's values for those of God's kingdom. 

The "cultural understanding" method of accommodating our fallen world carries the temptation to have the world's approval, or to validate ourselves with the approval of those we are called to serve and to guide -- and to challenge, when necessary. One example is in discussions of the beginning of human life, where Christians on both sides have failed to address why there are so many unwanted pregnancies in the first place. This includes our failure as people of God to uphold sustainable lifelong relationships. The culture of hookups is part of the culture of not only self-centeredness but also a culture of loneliness, where relationships are not meaningful or lasting, and "catching feelings" can be an awkward disruption in a shallow existence. The people of God cannot be true to our calling and at the same time enable a stream of tragedies by providing justification. Those at abortion clinics, like those at drug rehab centers and those at homeless shelters, are refugees from a cultural disaster. That cultural disaster, played out in millions of single-life tragedies, was caused largely by Christianity vacating its place in standing opposed to our fallen natures, which always seek to justify ourselves. As people of God, we are not called see our moral imperatives in justifying this state of decay, or to see the ruin as other than tragic and fallen. Our power to transform comes precisely from standing outside the broken system. 

 

But I still haven't found what I'm looking for ...

So many of us spend time online these days. On a hunch, I checked what is the top traffic website in the world. It's google.com. Runners-up are youtube, facebook, instagram, and chatgpt to round out the top 5. The point? We're all searching for something. (The next 10 most-popular sites just confirm that.) 

We're looking for information, looking for a way to pass the time (or fill it meaningfully), looking for friends or family or connection, looking for conversation. 

I think St Augustine had it right: our souls are restless until they rest in God. 

There is a lot of information, but not much wisdom. A lot of people, but not many close friends. A lot of art, but not a lot of beauty or meaning. A lot of dating, but not a lot of love. A lot that we see, but not much that we find worth remembering. 

Christ is content worth finding. Faith, hope, and love are the connections that are worth remembering. Loving God and loving our neighbor, those are goals worthy of our dedication. 

Peace about the unknown future

There is a lot of anxiety in the air about the future. In some ways this is expected because we live in troubled times. Here are some anchors that can help us either see the future or shape the future: 

Trustworthy promises

Jesus said, "In this world you will have trouble, but take heart: I have overcome the world."  This is among many promises he gave us. He promised that he would be with us always to the end of the age, and that his life was given as a ransom for the multitudes and as a new covenant for the forgiveness of sins. He promised that he would return after a troublingly long absence to judge the world. 

Planting seeds that grow

The Bible often compares the word of God to a seed that grows and bears fruit, reproducing and multiplying itself as it goes. It is the same for human words too. If we speak the truth with love, there is more truth and love in the world. If we mostly comment on the faults of those we look down on, then by propagating meanness and arrogance we will see an increase of meanness and arrogance. It is not idly that Jesus reminds us that we will give an account for our words, and that we will be judged by the things we ourselves have spoken. There is a proverb that praises someone who speaks kind instruction. If all of Christ's followers join together in this, the change in our culture would be profound. One of the most profound effects we have on the future is the words we speak, along with the spirit in which they are spoken. 

Building what lasts

Another way in which we shape the future is by what we build. This is not limited to buildings. It includes friendships, families, and ties of fellowship. It extends to art, literature, and songs. Some of the songs we sing in our churches have lyrics that have endured for thousands of years. There is art which outlasts nations. 

Whenever the uneasiness of the world casts a shadow that we live in a time that is fading, let me lay up treasures in heaven that last. 

The question "Politically, what side should a Christian take?", carries some traps

I once saw a Christian asking a political question of someone he looked to as spiritual leader. (I would add a disclaimer that the spiritual leader had no official capacity in any church, as far as I know.) He was asking in good faith, trying to discern his way through complicated times, concerned how a certain conflict was being handled by the then-current president. (Nevermind which president that was, so that the scenario could be relevant to anyone.) The answer was another question: Do you support the president? 

Accepting that question into the conversation was a misstep; I'll come back to that. 

The questioner said Yes, he supported the president. And the responder moved on as if that answered the question about the conflict and its handling. In a way it did: unconditional support for a worldly leader, or party, carries risks that people have not always thought through. 

When the question became, "Do you support the president?", the question stopped being, "What is the faithful Christian stance?" A better answer to "Do you support the president?" would be "When I think he's right." That response would have guided the conversation back to relevant territory. I've heard similar questions over the years where "Do you support the party?" was the question that moved the conversation off of meaningful spiritual ground. And many worldly calls to pick a side are baited with pride. 

The question of which political party should guide our spiritual discernment is already on faulty premises. It "looks past the sale," as some would say, about whether a political party should be guiding our spiritual discernment in the first place. Our support of a political party can never bring light to the world. Our insistence on bringing light to the world -- if we seek it first -- might. 

If we try to tie two things together -- faith and politics -- whichever one is more flexible is going to bend. 

To everything there is a season

To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven. (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

Ecclesiastes' most famous passage reminds me that there is an appropriate time for so many opposing actions in life, without spelling out for the reader what those may be. 

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: 

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; 

A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 

A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; 

A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 

A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. 

This passage is eloquent and beautiful about the times, but does not offer guidance on discerning the times. This leaves us with people who read the times differently: Is it a time to kill or a time to heal? Is it a time to weep or a time to laugh? A time to keep silence or a time to speak? 

I'm looking for more wisdom on that point, and the first step I have spotted is what Paul once said to the church in Corinth: 

All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things are not edifying. Let no man seek his own, but every man another's prosperity. ... So whether you eat, or drink, or whatsoever you do, do it all to the glory of God. Give offence to none: neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God: Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking my own benefit, but the benefit of many, that they may be saved. (1 Corinthians 10:23-24, 31-33)

If I am looking to justify myself, I have the easy job of finding a way to justify myself since most things have their season. If I am looking to seek the glory of God, give offense to none, and seek the benefit of others in general, I have a more difficult job. This keeps a godly restraint on the tendency to read the times to justify myself, instead of conducting myself to redeem the times. 

Essential Bible Verses for Social Media Storms

As is my practice in the middle of polarizing and contentious events, this week I will not be posting a "business as usual" post. In some ways this post is a continuation of the post on Essential Bible Verses for Posting on Social Media. 

1. Avoid pouring fuel on the fire (Proverbs 15:1: A gentle answer turns away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger). 
2. Give focus to those who are loving and humble. (Ephesians 4:15: Speak the truth with love; Philippians 4:8 whatever is worthy of praise, think on these things.) 
3. Focus on earnest work for peace. (Romans 12:18: As far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.)
4. Grieve with those who grieve. (Romans 12:15: "Mourn with those who mourn." There are times when rejoicing is out of place, so the remainder of the verse is not implied by the quotation of the current part.) 
5. Do not believe the first report without reservation, and do not disbelieve a report merely because it differs from a previous report. (Proverbs 18:17: The first to present a case seems right til another comes forward and questions him.) 
6. We are called to be discerning about what we believe. (1 Thessalonians 5:21: Test everything, hold onto what is good.) 
7. We are called to be discerning about what we say. (Ephesians 4:29: Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful in building up others according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.) 
8. Be as unfailingly kind as our humanity can manage. (Ephesians 4:32: Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ has forgiven you.)

Help from the inside: the work of the Holy Spirit

I have been working towards a fuller understanding of the Holy Spirit, beginning with various things the Spirit is credited with accomplishing. 

• The Spirit of God is described as the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord, rejoicing in the presence of God, particularly resting on God's anointed (Isaiah 11:1-3)
• The Holy Spirit is the spirit by which we call God "Abba", "Father" (Romans 8:15, Galatian 4:6)
• The Holy Spirit is particularly credited with fellowship among believers (2 Corinthians 13:14, Philippians 2:1)
• The Holy Spirit is to lead the apostles into truth (John 16:13)
• The Holy Spirit is known as Comforter or Advocate (John 14:16, 14:26, 15:26, 16:7)
• The Holy Spirit makes intercession for us when we do not know what to pray (Romans 8:26)
• The Holy Spirit was promised to the apostles to supply the words to say during trials (Mark 13:11) and to teach them what to say on those occasions (Luke 12:11-12)

In some ways the Spirit is the least-seen among the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Still, in some ways the Spirit is the most intimate: with us, in our hearts, in our minds, living within us and helping from the inside.