I have been considering how culture impacts our lives. How should we, as Christians, interact with the culture in which we find ourselves? We often hear of culture in generic terms such as corporate culture or something being refined as being cultured or even pop culture. Merriam-Webster has as its first definition: the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group; the second as: the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organization How do I react to the cultural elements that are in opposition or not in sync with what I believe? Jesus said: “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” The world here includes what we define as our culture. Things that are popular, events that we as a society view as important, attitudes toward each other, how and why we gather together are all elements of our culture. There will be times that the world hates me. That is alright if it is hating me because I am reflecting the glory of Jesus. How exactly do we, as Christians, reflect that glory?
We are bought with a price. That means we are Christ’s; we belong to Him. How we act should reflect that light that is him. When we are faced with the world’s corruption, the world’s love of sin and celebration of self, we should stand steadfast in our love for the individual souls that are before us even though in our spirits we are reviled by the decay we see. I think of how Jesus did not shy away from the lepers he encountered. Leprosy is an insidious disease which eats away at the flesh of those who are afflicted by it. Even though Jesus encountered lepers who had lost parts of their bodies, he embraced them and offered them healing. Each of us is infected by the disease of spiritual leprosy. We are deadened to the sores which cover our souls just as the leper can’t feel his sores. If we could see ourselves through God’s spiritual eyes, we would be repulsed by what we saw. Jesus sees us through our disease and he loves us in spite of our repulsive condition. If our Master can embrace us, can we not embrace one another? That is not to say that we accept the corruption we see. Even though Jesus came to seek and to save those that are lost, he also didn’t pull any punches in dealing with an individual’s sin. When Jesus forgave sins, he also gave the admonition to “go and sin no more.”
Often times a person today will react to a Christian and say “don’t judge me.” How they react reflects how they feel. When faced with our iniquities, we often feel shame. Many modern therapists try to obfuscate those feelings of shame by attributing those feelings to societal pressures and norms. The desire to “be free to be who you are” is often a desire to feel no shame for our sins. I would submit that shame for our sins is not a bad thing. It forces us to examine ourselves and our selfish motivations. It forces us back to the cross to be forgiven, to remind us of our station with Jesus. He loves us and he wants us to have abundant lives. For us, we should not render condemnation for the person who is sinning but realize that they have the disease of spiritual leprosy. It is a disease with which we all struggle. The only cure comes from Jesus’ gracious healing. How can we condemn someone for a disease which we ourselves also have?
When you are treating someone who is sick, do you tell them they have to take care of themselves without offering any help? We should expect a person who is sick to take what measures they can reasonable take for themselves, but if someone is bedridden do you really expect them to be able to get up and take care of their waste needs for themselves? In the same way, we should not expect someone who knows only the barest details of the Bible to be able to live a life in compliance with God’s will. God graciously meets each of us where we are on the road of faith. He also walks along side us and points out where we should go (He is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. Psalm 119:105). That is not to say that he dictates to us, for God has given us free will. That means that he does not compel us on the path of righteousness. He only shows us the path and encourages us to take that path. If God has the grace to allow us our free will, what gives us the right to attempt to curtail the liberty which God allows?
How does the Christian interact with the culture in which he/she lives? It should be as a light, gently and humbly offering guidance for the path that God has given us. It is tempting to shout back at a world that is doing its best to silence our voices, but “A soft word turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” (Proverbs 15:1) Now that is not to say that we should be a doormat for anyone who opposes us, but it does mean that we should be careful (full of care-not cautious) of how we react to the hate and vitriol that is directed toward us. Remember, Jesus told us that the world hated him and he tells us that the world will also hate us if we are his. Jesus is our guiding light. He gave us the example of how to deal with those that hate us-with love. He did not compromise with sin. He dealt with sins as a physician who is treating a disease. He treated the disease with care for the patient (sinner). The best way to learn how to deal with those who hate us is to read and re-read the stories of how Jesus chose to live his life and how he interacted with the world. We should also join ourselves to a group of faithful believers and seek to encourage others to live lives as an example of what it means to be Christian. Will we be perfect? No. Does that mean that we should not try? No. The Christian life is not easy. Easy would be to follow along with the world. However, with God’s grace and help we can hope to live in ways that bring glory to God and points others to Jesus and the cross.
I hope this post gives you encouragement to try just a little more today. I also hope that you have just a little more patience and a little more love in your heart for others. It would be easy for me to rant about the things that I see wrong with our culture, but I feel, at this point in time, that it is better not to point fingers, but to open arms. Thanks for taking the time to read my blog. May God bless and keep you. -Greg