Survival strategy for
a people
out of their element
A Christian response to the call of the world
This world is not my home
I’m just a’passing through
My treasures are laid up
Somewhere beyond the blue
The angels beckon me
From heaven’s golden shore
And I can’t feel at home
in this world anymore.
A young husband browsing awkwardly in the lingerie department became very flustered when a sales person approached him to see if she could help. But since he hadn’t had any success finding exactly what he was looking for, he managed to stammer that he wanted to buy a brassiere for his wife. "What bust?" asked the sales person, very matter of fact and efficient. "Oh, nothing," he hastily replied. "It just wore out." Now there was a young man out of his element.
The feeling is probably more familiar than most Christians would care to admit. Many feel that the "world"–the realm of secular and material concerns–is alien territory, a place to do business but not to belong. Active followers of Jesus Christ often recognize their awkwardness in the life department, and yearn for heaven–the heart’s true home. They speak of being "in the world, but not of the world," a compact description of a struggle which pits the pull of human impulse against the demands of faith (John 17:14-18).
Two dangers
Christians face at least two dangers as they wrestle with this tension between immediate and eternal value systems. The first is to become so separate from the world they fail to relate. Many Scriptures remind believers that their citizenship is in heaven and that they need to carve an identity separate from the world. This leads some to create distinct cultures that intersect only rarely with the majority of earth-dwellers, and which often appear to hold outsiders in disdain.
The opposite danger is to become so accommodating–so comfortable with the cultural environment–that God’s principles for faithful living are compromised. Many who claim to be Christian believers are virtually indistinguishable from their unbelieving neighbors, sharing the same habits, appetites, attitudes and activities. 2 Timothy 4:10 refers to a qualified Christian worker who accompanied Paul on some of his missionary enterprises. But something was wrong with this man’s witness. Paul casually drops in a little throwaway line with no further explanation: "Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me..."–a telling little phrase.
Constructive engagement
What then is the key to constructive engagement with the world God created and called good, with the people in whom he’s shown an enduring interest? God loves the world. He loves humanity. Followers of Jesus have indeed been set apart, but for a very particular purpose. They’ve been commissioned to share the love of God with all humanity. Christians in the world are spiritual immigrants, resident strangers who feel a two-fold call of God–devotion and commitment to him, service on his behalf to the world.
The key, if that is the right word because it certainly is not a simple formula, is for Christians to live with a robust two-worldliness. Earth may be their turf, but it is not their homestead. These are temporary digs, not the dream-house. A robust two-worldliness recognizes and appreciates its surroundings, but does not allow the world to squeeze a true believer into its mold.
Proper respect
To be in the world but not of the world requires a proper sense of respect for the world and the things of the world. Money, sex, music, entertainment–appetites of all sorts–are powers that can easily control people’s choices and govern their lives. Such power deserves healthy respect. Virtually every human impulse that exists can be used for good when it is channeled to holy purposes–to activities and attitudes that demonstrate love for God or love for others. By the same token, virtually every human impulse can be used for evil if it is not controlled, if it is self-indulgent.
The ability to discern between good and evil aspects of everyday living grows out of a godly sense of respect for the power of the world. A.W. Tozer maintained that "the more a man has in his own heart, the less he will require from outside," and argued that "the present inordinate attachment to every form of entertainment is evidence that the inner life of modern man is in serious decline." Drawing on God’s wisdom and power through Scripture and prayer is essential–"Help me, O God, to know the difference between right and wrong, and give me the courage to choose the right."
But discernment comes mostly through practice–by engaging the world, by the accumulation of small good choices that add up to wisdom. This point is clearly made in Hebrews 5:14. The author is upset that a group of church-goers are still babies in the faith; people whose level of spiritual maturity is infantile. He notes that they’re still drinking milk even though they should have been on solid food for a while already. Then he says this: "But solid food is for the mature, for those whose faculties have been trained by practice to distinguish good from evil." It takes work.
Christians need to respect the world for its beauty and its power, but must also develop a holy sense of discernment in their interaction with it. A robust two-worldliness calls followers of Christ to live with the hope of heaven, but not to neglect the call of God to serve as his agent in this sinful world. For as powerful as the world may be for destruction, God is even more powerful for good.
Doug
Koop
Editor
