One would have to be deaf, dumb and blind not to notice the ills in our culture – especially here in the western world and more specifically in our own country.Excessive wealth and opulence. Lust and greed. Immorality of every ilk. Deceit. Devaluation of life. We could go on and on.
For a Christian who sincerely desires to follow the teachings of Christ, and still be a functioning, contributing member in our society, he or she faces a dilemma of some dimensions. How do we live and effectively model Christ amidst a culture that could care less?
Our pastor, Don Jukam, in a recent adult ed class during our Sunday School hour, made this statement, that is affecting my thinking as I’ve contemplated it:
He contended, “We confront our culture’s value system by NOT conforming to it and letting GOD ‘do the battle.’”
Stop and think of the implications.
Pastor Don named Biblical characters like Daniel, Sampson, Esther, Paul the apostle and Stephen the martyr as obvious but effective examples.
As I’ve thought about it, when there has been effective, progressive change in a culture, the modifications almost always have occurred by this model. Legitimate civil disobedience in our own country over the past 50 years would likely be an example for our living generations.
The battle is not ours; God is sovereign. But our faith compels us to live counter-culturally to effect transformation, as did Christ.
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