“Thinking Christianly is thinking by Christians about
anything and everything in a consistently Christian way – in a manner that is shaped,
directed, and restrained by the truth of God’s Word and God’s Spirit.” Os Guinness
We
live in a culture where Christians are continually pressured to choose sides,
yet for the Bible-believer there is only one right side – Jesus Christ’s. Thus, when something hits the cultural
landscape, Christ-followers must step back from the fray and first ask: What
does God’s Word teach? What are the scriptural principles that would apply
here?
A biblical worldview must come always before being red or blue, or any other division…even before family. Yet because the pressure is to conform and fit in with a group, seeing life with that worldview, it will often mean we’re unpopular and even irritate those who are loyal to a certain “group.” But we have no options. King Jesus must reign supreme in our loyalty and thinking. Our first group then is family, our brothers and sisters in Christ.
The issues at stake are often complex. They require God’s wisdom and serious contemplation. That came to my mind as I watched sides being taken over the song by Jason Aldean, “Try that in a small town.” While you don’t have to agree with me, if you’re a Christ-follower please take time to think through cultural issues biblically. Here’s what I think…
First, Aldean is right in that large cities are places of increased crime and violence. All of his examples are from more recent times. Yet from the dawn of time cities have been places of violence and debauchery.
After Cain murdered his brother, Abel, in Genesis 4, though he was cursed by God to be “a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth” (Genesis 4:12), one of Cain’s first acts in his continued rebellion against God was to build a city which quickly devolved into a place of growing violence and evil as recorded in the succeeding chapters of Genesis.
It’s why the Church must see, as Tim Keller exhorted us, cities as needy mission fields in need of church plants. The early church radically transformed their culture because they focused on urban areas where it wasn’t safe and evangelism often met resistance and persecution. Yet the Church today has too often abandoned our cities. It’s why I appreciate Moody Church in Chicago and Bethlehem Baptist in Minneapolis. They’re serving in the heart of their cities and seeking to make a difference.
God never called Christians to be safe. Like the early church, believers run in when everyone else runs out. The light shines brightest where it is darkest. Our own country’s “War on Poverty” proves that education, jobs, and housing are not the solution to societal change.
Second, Aldean is right that small towns are wonderful…if you’re like nearly everyone else. Small towns are welcoming unless you’re different. Twice in my life I’ve been the minority in a community. In my formative years, ours was one of a few Caucasian families in our neighborhood in Atlanta. In Odessa, Texas, I learned for the first time I was an “Anglo.”
If you want a small taste of what it’s like to be different, wear a Chicago Bears sweatshirt in Green Bay when the Bears aren’t playing the Packers and you stick out. When I worked in commercial roofing, we often did projects in very small towns where there might be only one place to grab lunch. Everyone knew that you were not a local.
Imagine what it’s like for someone from a minority ethnic group to live where another ethnic group is the majority. If you adopt a child or marry someone not from the majority group, you’ll often receive stares or ignorant comments. We, humans, like people like us and often disdain or even show outright bigotry to those who are different.
As Christians, we’re to be distinctly different. It is level ground at the foot of the cross. There are no differences in our universal need to be rescued from ourselves and from sin. God’s Word rebukes manmade groupings and divisions that are sometimes found even among believers.
Many years ago African-American pastor, Tony Evans, horrified some in his audience at a Promise Keepers’ Rally when he said, “Some of you would be more bothered if your white daughter married a black man than if she married an unbeliever.” Christ-followers have more in common with believers from any other group than with those who don’t know Jesus even if they’re from our own “group” whether it’s racial, economic or political.
Finally, Aldean is dead wrong by assuming some are “raised right.” It’s relativistic moralism. It categorizes sin as little and big. The Bible doesn’t give us that option. For example, my Grandfather was a moonshiner and an adulterer yet was from a small town of probably less than 1,000.
Are some sins worse than others? It’s what the song is suggesting. It’s not true. Adam and Eve lost Eden because they disobeyed God’s one command in eating the forbidden fruit. Aldean himself committed adultery before divorcing his first wife and marrying the woman he’d had an affair with. Is that what it means to be “raised right?” The Bible teaches that no one has been raised right (Romans 3:23).
We may be raised to live according to what’s acceptable in our culture. But just because it’s accepted, it doesn’t mean it’s right. According to God’s Word, we’re all a big mess.
I see the worst sinner I know each morning when I look in the mirror, and so do you. It’s why we all desperately need a Savior and someone to pay our sin debt. As the angel told Joseph, His name is Jesus “for He shall save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).
A biblical worldview must come always before being red or blue, or any other division…even before family. Yet because the pressure is to conform and fit in with a group, seeing life with that worldview, it will often mean we’re unpopular and even irritate those who are loyal to a certain “group.” But we have no options. King Jesus must reign supreme in our loyalty and thinking. Our first group then is family, our brothers and sisters in Christ.
The issues at stake are often complex. They require God’s wisdom and serious contemplation. That came to my mind as I watched sides being taken over the song by Jason Aldean, “Try that in a small town.” While you don’t have to agree with me, if you’re a Christ-follower please take time to think through cultural issues biblically. Here’s what I think…
First, Aldean is right in that large cities are places of increased crime and violence. All of his examples are from more recent times. Yet from the dawn of time cities have been places of violence and debauchery.
After Cain murdered his brother, Abel, in Genesis 4, though he was cursed by God to be “a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth” (Genesis 4:12), one of Cain’s first acts in his continued rebellion against God was to build a city which quickly devolved into a place of growing violence and evil as recorded in the succeeding chapters of Genesis.
It’s why the Church must see, as Tim Keller exhorted us, cities as needy mission fields in need of church plants. The early church radically transformed their culture because they focused on urban areas where it wasn’t safe and evangelism often met resistance and persecution. Yet the Church today has too often abandoned our cities. It’s why I appreciate Moody Church in Chicago and Bethlehem Baptist in Minneapolis. They’re serving in the heart of their cities and seeking to make a difference.
God never called Christians to be safe. Like the early church, believers run in when everyone else runs out. The light shines brightest where it is darkest. Our own country’s “War on Poverty” proves that education, jobs, and housing are not the solution to societal change.
Second, Aldean is right that small towns are wonderful…if you’re like nearly everyone else. Small towns are welcoming unless you’re different. Twice in my life I’ve been the minority in a community. In my formative years, ours was one of a few Caucasian families in our neighborhood in Atlanta. In Odessa, Texas, I learned for the first time I was an “Anglo.”
If you want a small taste of what it’s like to be different, wear a Chicago Bears sweatshirt in Green Bay when the Bears aren’t playing the Packers and you stick out. When I worked in commercial roofing, we often did projects in very small towns where there might be only one place to grab lunch. Everyone knew that you were not a local.
Imagine what it’s like for someone from a minority ethnic group to live where another ethnic group is the majority. If you adopt a child or marry someone not from the majority group, you’ll often receive stares or ignorant comments. We, humans, like people like us and often disdain or even show outright bigotry to those who are different.
As Christians, we’re to be distinctly different. It is level ground at the foot of the cross. There are no differences in our universal need to be rescued from ourselves and from sin. God’s Word rebukes manmade groupings and divisions that are sometimes found even among believers.
Many years ago African-American pastor, Tony Evans, horrified some in his audience at a Promise Keepers’ Rally when he said, “Some of you would be more bothered if your white daughter married a black man than if she married an unbeliever.” Christ-followers have more in common with believers from any other group than with those who don’t know Jesus even if they’re from our own “group” whether it’s racial, economic or political.
Finally, Aldean is dead wrong by assuming some are “raised right.” It’s relativistic moralism. It categorizes sin as little and big. The Bible doesn’t give us that option. For example, my Grandfather was a moonshiner and an adulterer yet was from a small town of probably less than 1,000.
Are some sins worse than others? It’s what the song is suggesting. It’s not true. Adam and Eve lost Eden because they disobeyed God’s one command in eating the forbidden fruit. Aldean himself committed adultery before divorcing his first wife and marrying the woman he’d had an affair with. Is that what it means to be “raised right?” The Bible teaches that no one has been raised right (Romans 3:23).
We may be raised to live according to what’s acceptable in our culture. But just because it’s accepted, it doesn’t mean it’s right. According to God’s Word, we’re all a big mess.
I see the worst sinner I know each morning when I look in the mirror, and so do you. It’s why we all desperately need a Savior and someone to pay our sin debt. As the angel told Joseph, His name is Jesus “for He shall save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).
Can
we help you spiritually? Please check out more resources on our church's web
page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more
about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus
changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org
to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address.
