Pushing Back On Societal Evolution
Navigating through the incoming tide of a morally fluid culture
Spoiler alert: I identify as a follower of Christ, i.e. Christian. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. Acts 11:26. Now, we press onward and upward. I must now opine:
With each passing day it seems Christians experience an ongoing cultural pressure to compromise our faith. Our societal “norms” are changing faster than we can keep up, so it seems. If you’re reading this, I’m confident you are a keen observer to this realty. Therefore I’d prefer to focus on the antidote rather than the disease. Negativity is unhealthy after all.
I’ll ask you the reader, can you identify your core beliefs? Which ones do you hold unswervingly to? I think of the firefighter or policeman who risk their life every day because they believe every life is precious and certainly worth protecting from physical harm or death. They are all heroes in my book. How about what we believe in respect to morality and the afterlife? What we decide about these also guide the daily decisions we make. I have long concluded that there are certain core beliefs I will not deviate from and would even die for, that is if I was cornered into choosing a particular side. Obviously it remains vitally important to understand what these core beliefs are, lest a strong breeze shift ones moral compass out of position.
From a young age I was encouraged to be true to myself, to not let others define who I was or to fall into the trappings of life they allowed themselves to be enslaved to. Over the past many years I gradually discovered what my values were, what type of relationships I thrived in best, and conversation which was beneficial to my emotional and spiritual growth. The pinnacle of my identity altered course upon receiving Christ as my Savior when I recognized that Christ died for MY sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:4). I don’t cling to the tenants of any religion but instead have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, the Creator of all things, visible and invisible. I can’t really explain this adequately but for me I have zero doubt that it is genuine. It is by no means a slave-master relationship as some perceive, but a friendship (John 15:15). God is my Father, and Jesus Christ is my Brother. I have found that my relationship with Jesus is best maintained through a constant prayer life and buttressed through the fellowship of other believers. It really is that simple. I am confident in my eternal destiny based on His promise and whether I live or die, I will live forever with the Creator of the universe. End of mini-testimony.
Living life is tough. This despite the fact that I am fortunate to live in a country that was founded on certain freedoms and avails many opportunities for vocational success. Millions upon millions of folks are much worse off than you or I. To them and as I reminder to myself I would offer these two beacons of hope:
By His spirit will you receive power. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. Acts 1:8. His power leads us, convicts us, teaches us, and equips us to do His work and spread the gospel. I think that’s a incredibly amicable trade off for the gift of eternal life by accepting Christ as your Savior.
My God is able. "And God is ABLE to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work" (2 Cor. 9:8). We often “give peace a chance” but disregard God as the ultimate peacemaker. This peace that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. I can’t explain how or why but I do experience it every day.
Meanwhile let us never bow to a culture which says sin, as defined in always highly relevant Scripture, is acceptable and of no consequence. Each and every day folks are walking away from Truth and towards an illusion of happiness and contentment. We are living in a society which has a nature akin to clouds without water, carried about by the ever shifting winds (Jude 12). One which calls evil good and good evil. This is nothing to really be surprised about for Jesus did say: “Narrow is the way, which. leads to life, and few there be that find it.“ This degenerate societal evolution is happening right before our very eyes. Many of us are like frogs placed in that proverbial boiling kettle of water, the temperature is rising and we will eventually get burned if we fail to extricate ourselves. We have to push back by maintaining our core beliefs guided by the eternal Word of God, which does not change.
But push back with gentleness and respect. Love the sinner, hate the sin. For we are all sinners saved by the grace of God.
Jim