CULTURE AFFECTS CHRISTIANS!

Recently I've been brooding over a conviction: a deep desire to "change the culture of a nation, from one that tolerates sin to one that tolerates righteousness."

Why should we care about changing the culture? We Christians are separated from the world! -- aren't we? We live apart from the world! -- don't we?

We're not affected by the world, or its culture, now are we?

Don't be too sure. The scriptures show us that culture can indeed ensnare Christians and lead us off the path of righteousness.

Scriptures describe the city of Sodom as wicked and sinful -- it was so bad there could not be found ten righteous people there. But a righteous man lived nearby named Lot. Genesis 19 speaks of a time when angels came to the city to pronounce judgment upon it. The men of Sodom were so sexually deviant that they wanted to rape the heavenly visitors.

Astonishingly, Lot proffered his virgin daughters to appease the crowd. What?

Can you see how the sexually permissive culture negatively affected his own judgment and morality so that he offered his own daughters to be molested? And he thought nothing of it! Various New Testament translations say that Lot was "vexed, oppressed, distressed" by the conduct in Sodom (2 Peter 2:7). Young's Literal Translation says that Lot was "worn down" by what was going on around him, day in day out.

His convictions were seriously seared by his culture.

The same today: one's perspective of issues can change with the constant bombardment of negative influences on TV, from classroom teachers, from devious politicians.

Prayerfully, Christians can "come out" from the ways of the world. Our allegiances and behavior are not those of the world (-- or so we would hope!).

Thankfully, the Holy Spirit, once empowered within an individual, can help us discern both good and evil as mature Christians (Heb 5:14).

But ponder the landscape of Christendom throughout the world. Pick a social dilemma in the world and see if there is unanimous Christian consensus on it. Don't you think there should be?!

Let's go down the list:

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION
Do we side with law and order; or do we side with the poor?

ABORTION
Do we side with the life of the child; or the rights of the mother?

GOVERNMENT
Do we want government to punish the rich to give to the poor in equal distribution; or do we want free enterprise that doesn't limit our potential?

POLITICAL PARTIES
Do we want liberal/socialistic candidates; or do we want those with traditional, more conservative values? Do we vote for someone according to ethnicity; as opposed to righteous behavior?

Unfortunately, Christian perspectives vary. And, quite often it's due to culture.

This is why I say that we need to change the culture from one that tolerates sin to one that tolerates righteousness. Today you can say the most outlandish, disrespectful, sinful thing and you get a pat on the back.

Talk about righteousness and you get a sneer.

Yes, it's time to do all we can to change the culture.