Lessons in our culture: Drawing the line
As a church, we want to be a community that’s helping one another become total followers of Jesus Christ. One of the important aspects of this is that we’re doing so in the cultural context of Wellington in the 2020s. In this environment, I am increasingly hearing questions about what this looks like in the context of social and cultural expectations, particularly in the workplace. How do I follow Jesus in a workplace where people are asked to wear rainbow lanyards? Should I go along with putting personal pronouns in my email signature? When everyone has to stand and say the agency’s karakia, what do I do if I don’t agree with the words?
I can’t tell you what you should do and there aren’t always ‘right’ answers. However, over the next few weeks, I hope to lay out some thoughts that we might use as way markers—guidelines to help each of us come to conclusions we are at peace with before the Lord. Please be gracious with one another as we will sometimes come to different conclusions.
For this week, Daniel 1 is a great place to start. He was about 11-15 years old when the Babylonians first invaded Jerusalem in 605BC and he was taken 500 miles away from home to Babylon where he was put into the service of the king.
Why not have a look at Daniel 1 for yourself. Here are three thoughts I’ve drawn from it.
Daniel learned about culture
This is a nice way of saying Daniel was indoctrinated. He was purposefully taken away from his family and culture and immersed in the language and literature of Babylon. Moreover, God helped him and his companions to excel in their learning (Dan 1:17). I notice that Paul also took the time to learn about the culture of the people he was seeking to reach (Acts 17:16-34 is a masterclass of contextualised gospel-sharing). You may feel more immersed in our culture than you want to be but maybe it’s something God wants to use to help you minster to people in that culture.
Daniel excelled in the culture
Part of God enabling Daniel and his companions to learn was that they were able to excel in their work. At the end of their training, the king found them far better than others in his service. You would expect Daniel to be known for subterfuge and sabotage — for undermining pagan authority. Rather, Daniel was a blessing to his captors and his wisdom was sought after. As a follower of Jesus, you bring a unique perspective and posture into whatever environment you are in. You have a higher view of the inherent worth of humanity than anyone else. You know that leadership is about service, not subjection. What does it look like for you to do the best job while being generous and kind to others in the process?
Daniel knew where to draw the line
Daniel drew the line at eating the king’s food, potentially because it was sacrificed to idols. There came a point where he said no. Notice that he was discrete and polite about it but this didn’t compromise the firmness of the no. What I find interesting is that his line was probably further than he was comfortable. After all, he didn’t object to being given a Babylonian name. What’s fascinating about Daniel is that the first 11-15 years of his life had been lived out in the spiritual revival of Josiah’s day (2 Chron 34-35) when God’s word took prime place in Judah. It seems therefore that his upbringing was strong enough that even when taken 500 miles from home and immersed in a new culture, it was God’s word that became the plumb-line in his life. Can I encourage you to be someone increasingly immersed in Scripture and allow the Spirit to guide you in wisely knowing where to draw the line, even if it is further into the culture than you would naturally be comfortable.
Much love,
Simon
Questions to ponder:
Can you think of any areas of your life currently where you feel immersed beyond your comfort zone in the culture around you?
Ask God what He thinks about these areas of discomfort for you. Do you sense He’s asking you to draw a firm line and say no to something? Or rather do you sense He could be calling you to lean into the discomfort and embrace the opportunity that might be there?
When was the last time you truly took the time to listen and learn from someone who has very different perspectives and opinions from you? Can you think of anyone you could make space to listen to and learn from this week?
This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>