World
Since I became a Christian in 1987, I've constantly heard the
phrase "Culture Wars" thrown around. It usually refers to the clash of two
perspectives in America: a more traditional worldview based on a Biblical
understanding of how a society should function and a more liberal view of
culture where old perspectives are challenged and replaced with new viewpoints
and ideas on everything from marriage to education to economics to the power of
government.
Christians today find themselves in a tough spot. As the culture
shifts further away from the long assumed Christian ethos of American history,
we as followers of Christ remain firmly planted in our convictions on essential
values and beliefs. But the cultural shift means that as society moves farther
from the way things used to be, evangelicals look more and more odd to
outsiders. We haven't moved, but it seems as if we have to "the world" because
they find us to be so far outside the mainstream which is rapidly re-defining
major issues; marriage, drug use, the value of human life, and religious
liberty, just to name a few.
Christians must rightly understand what "the world" really is if
we are going to obey the mandate of the Apostle John found in
scripture.
1 John 2:15-17 says, Do
not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love
of the Father is
not in him. For everything in the world - the cravings
of sinful man, the lust of his eyes, and the boasting of what he has and does -
comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass
away, but the one who does the will of God lives
forever.
Remember that the man writing these words was not only one of the
12 disciples. He was also Jesus' closest friend, who remained with Him through
the crucifixion, and was given the task by Jesus to care for Mary, His mother,
after the resurrection. John is an old man writing this letter in exile on a
desert Island off the coast of Greece. When he speaks of "the world" he knows
what he's talking about. It's a system that elevates self above all things. It's
a worldview that honors power, money, control, and influence over service,
humility, and sacrifice. John lived under the shadow of the Roman Empire. He
suffered under the hand of a Roman Caesar. He warned followers of Jesus Christ
to avoid a love affair with a worldly system that promised temporary pleasure
but that would ultimately pass away.
Tradition says that John refused to stop proclaiming the gospel,
and Rome took this as a threat to their power. He was boiled in oil but
miraculously survived. He dared to stand against "the world" and refused to bow
to the cultural pressure to go along with the way things were. We must learn to
do the same. It is naieve for us to assume that the culture we live in, or any
culture for that matter, will always reflect the Kingdom of God. Instead, we
must live like subversive agents on a mission to be a witness to people in this
world that we belong to another world while living in this one. Our witness to
the world is not how loud we shout in protest or how well we argue a point on
Facebook. It's how we respond to suffering, the way we care for the poor, and
how we proclaim the gospel even among a hostile society.
Historian Rodney Stark, in his masterpiece, The Rise Of
Christianity, reveals the reasons why the followers of Jesus were able to thrive
in the darkest seasons of human history. They loved and served their neighbors
even in the face of certain death, caring for the sick and dying during events
like the Black Plague. They lived out a Biblical ethic of marriage and family
where women and children were valued and sex was a gift only shared in the
marriage covenant. And they stood firm in their convictions even in the face of
persecution.
We are not at war with a culture. We are at war with Satan, sin,
evil, and death. We are at war with our own selfishness, greed, and pride.
Ephesians 6: 12 says, For
our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the
authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual
forces of evil in heavenly realms.
When "the world" sees us live with strong conviction as well as
humble sacrifice, they will be drawn to the gospel. Our responsibility is to
resist the temptation to love and pursue worldly pleasures while chasing hard
after the eternal treasure of knowing Jesus
Christ.
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