He Shines in All That's Fair, So Lighten Up

Christians have had a long and conflicted relationship with culture. And there has always been a segment of Christians who believe that involvement in the culture is a dangerous business, for it dances close to the line of embracing things that might be displeasing to God. Hear me out: our world is flawed, and there are some dangerous elements to the culture, but is withdrawing from the culture and forming a separate sub-culture really the answer? On the other hand, is targeting the culture and trying to "save" it something the Bible advocates? If you answered yes to either one of these questions I want to pose something for you to consider: It is interesting that those who object to Santa Claus are often the very ones who live by his creed: you better watch out. . . you better be good. . . It's also interesting that those who speak against being "of the world" often base their lifestyle convictions not on Scripture but on the culture itself: dress up to go to church. . . sing mostly traditional hymns without drums. . . believe that the earth is very young. . . don't support public schools (Yes, those are merely preferences of a specific segment of the culture. They are not biblical commands. The same could be said of drinking in moderation, reading novels that may have an occasional explitive, and watching movies that don't involve Bible characters, people being left behind, and cartoon vegetables who botch the point of the story of Jonah).

Lest you think I am attacking those convictions or the people who hold them, let me clearly state: there is nothing wrong with holding and practicing such convictions. In fact, everyone is free to do so, as long as they are acknowledged as personal preferences and not biblical requirements.

My point is this: When we expect others to live by our preferences, and act as if they will be more godly if they do, we have crossed the line into absurdity by attempting to take the place of God.

C.S. Lewis put it this way:

"One of the marks of a certain type of bad man is that he cannot give up a thing himself without wanting everyone else to give it up. That is not the Christian way. An individual Christian may see fit to give up all sorts of things for special reasons-- marriage, or meat, or beer, or the cinema; but the moment he starts saying the things are bad in themselves, or looking down his nose at other people who do use them, he has taken the wrong turning."

Christians throughout the ages have believed that God makes himself known in two ways: Generally (through nature and all that exists, which reveals to us the beautiful artwork of God according to Psalm 19:1-6) and Specifically (through the Bible, which reveals to us the truth of God's redeeming love in Jesus Christ according to Psalm 19:7-14). Here's what intrigues me: We go to great lengths to argue that the entire Bible, God's specific revelation, is "inerrant" (which I strongly believe with every fiber of my being). I'm curious though, have you ever heard anyone argue that God's general revelation is inerrant? The fact is, if God chose to reveal himself this way it HAS TO BE inerrant. It is, however, harder to interpret, and therein lies the tragedy: Because the light of nature (which includes many aspects of the culture itself) is often harder to understand and interpret than the Bible, we would rather not take the time to try and interpret it. In other words, we don't want to think, so we simply erect barriers that forbid entrance into anything that seems popular in modern culture, for fear that those things might contain sinful elements. We would rather discourage people from watching Friends and Seinfeld because they are "worldy" shows that sometimes deal with immoral subjects, rather than celebrate and learn from the amazing sense of community those shows portray-- a type of community which Christians long to have but seldom find in the very place where it is supposed to be found: the church. We would rather discourage people from going trick-or-treating on Halloween rather than remove our own religious costumes that conceal our sin to others the other 364 days of the year.

Why do we spend so much time being uptight and offended at trivial matters such as what kind of music is godly, how many winter coats a person should have (something I recently heard someone debating), and whether or not Christians should read Harry Potter? The old hymn states, "This is my Father's World, He shines in all that's fair. In the rustling grass I hear Him pass, He speaks to me everywhere".

He's shining on you, my friend, so lighten up.