On Christians, Culture, and The Cultural Mandate

As this blog is called, How Should We Then Think, here is a very short illustration to help you think about your relationship to culture.

When you sit in traffic, creeping along at 5 mph on the freeway, it’s not that you are stuck in the traffic.. It’s not that everyone else is the traffic and you’re just stuck in it.

No, the real truth is that you are the traffic.

The speed that you drive; the gap you leave between you and the car in front of you; whether you respond and accelerate quickly and keep up with the car in front of you, or whether you lag behind slowly creating an initial large gap and then keep accelerating to then close that gap down from massive to minute; whether you often change lanes or just stay in your lane; whether you clog up the fast lane or use it properly; whether you clog up the exit/entrance lane(s) or know to get over for people merging; whether you are always the one letting everyone in because of the massive gap in front of you, or whether you never let anyone in because you intentionally don’t or because you are always very close to the car in front of you; whether you merge a mile back, or whether you try to wait to the last second and squeeze in, in front of one of those drivers who leaves the annoying and unnecessarily large gaps between themselves and the car in front of them - all of what you do contributes to the traffic, either in a helpful way, or in a harmful way.

”One person can prevent a traffic jam.” The inverse is true too - one person can cause a traffic jam.

You are the traffic, and you are always being both influenced by, and likewise influencing, the traffic.

When you begin to realize this, you begin to try to be a better driver. But you will never try to help improve traffic as long as you think that “they” are the traffic, and you are just stuck “in” it.

How old were you when you began to realize how wrong it is to walk through Costco, or the grocery store, and then just stop in the middle of the isle, and stand and stare, while people pile up behind you? Or to just leave your cart in the middle of the isle, blocking everyone else?

It doesn’t take many shopping trips before you quickly notice that many have never realized this, even in their latter years…

Anyone who has been driving for long knows the frustration of being stuck in the left lane, in a long line of cars, traveling below the speed limit, because some car a mile ahead is in the left lane, clogging up traffic as far as the eye can see. That one car is driven by someone either totally clueless, or totally inconsiderate, and often a combination of the two.

And so it is with “the culture.” You are the traffic. And you are the culture. You are either helping, or hindering, but never outside of it. Whether you realize it or not, you are influenced by the culture around you, you are formed by the culture around you.

Many seem to think that “the culture” and “the world” are synonymous phrases.

But while “the world” is a concept that is universe-encompassing, and something the Christian is outside of, “the culture” is neither universe-encompassing, and more importantly, NOT something the Christian is outside of. Rather, the Christian is part of the culture, just like the traffic.

Are are the light of the world.

You are the salt of the earth.

And just as there are bad drivers, dangerous drivers, and lots of careless, clueless, and lackadaisical drivers, there are far too many careless, far too many clueless, and too many dangerous Christians, when it comes to culture.

Today there is a new profession - Influencers.

As Dr. Sproul has said, “Everyone is a Theologian.” It’s true, everyone is a theologian. You are either a good theologian, or a bad theologian.

And the same is true of when it comes to influencing culture. You are an influencer. You are either a good influencer, or you are a bad influencer.

Just like being in the shopping isle, or the left lane, the degree to which you are good or bad, helpful or harmful, depends a great deal upon the degree to which you are self-aware.

Self awareness, and situational awareness are (normally) normal components of maturity…

When you begin to realize that you are part of culture, the way you talk about and approach culture changes. But you never begin to be a blessing as long as you think that “they” are the traffic, and you’re just stuck “in” it.

How one talks about culture is often just as important as what one says about culture.

So, how are you thinking about culture?