Called to Contrast

I am doing some reading for my class next week. The class is called Ethics of Community and is taught by Dr. Christina Pohl, who is one of my favorite professors. Peace and joy simply radiate from her and I can't wait to sit in her class next week and soak up the deep wisdom she will be dispensing. I am sure that I will have some posts later related to the new knowledge of Ethics that I will have.

One of the books that I am reading now refers to the Church as being a contrast-society. We are called, according to the author, not blend in with the world, but to stand starkly out against the world. The Israelites lived this way. Their regulations (directed from YWHW) about eating habits, circumcision, and ritual cleanliness set them apart from the rest of the world. They certainly didn’t try to fit in with culture in order to tell others about the LORD. And in the New Testament, Christ told his followers that they were to be a city on the hill, a light to the darkness. No one was asked to feign darkness so that they could infiltrate culture. They were called to be a contrast of light to the darkness. By this contrast, others would see the goodness of God. (Mat. 5)

The early church understood this. They stood so drastically opposed to the rest of the Roman Empire (and everywhere else) that they were prosecuted and killed. Their behavior was mocked by non-Christians, who could not fathom why the Christians wouldn’t feast with them, go see the games (gladiators), or engage in wanton sex. Throughout history other Christians have done the same. The early reformers like Martin Luther and John Calvin, those that fought against slavery and poverty like John Wesley and the early Methodists, Mother Teresa, and many, many more.

While most Christian churches today certainly do not espouse much of the behavior that is accepted outside the church, there is still a deep degree in which the church is seeking to blend in with culture. To be different is seen as elitist and legalistic. So the general conclusion is to imitate what the world finds attractive. A service of worship becomes entertainment and a church a coffee shop. Pastors are pressured to be megastars with nicely gelled hair and hip clothes. Go to any Christian bookstore. What you get in the books, music, and decor, is an imitation of western culture with a Christian spin. Some Christian musicians are advertised as sounding like a secular counterpart: If you like Lady Gaga then you will LOVE (fill in the blank)!

It is time that we stopped imitating the world and began to contrast it. Our lives, lived righteously, need to stand as a light to the rest of the world. We cannot allow our worship services, our homes, our marriages, our children, or anything else to blend in with the world. We cannot withdraw from the world around us, but we can be a light in the darkness and by doing so we will proclaim the goodness of God across the nations! We must be a contrast-society!