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My conversations with Christians in various parts of the United States and in other countries, especially in Latin America, suggest that many Christians are dissatisfied with the world. How can Christians influence a culture, or a nation, or a world?
First, understand that the nature of a culture or nation is the result of a particular view of the world. The worldview and values of our culture are reflected in the books, movies, television programming, art, and entertainment. Values are reflected in how and on what we spend money. When a Christian rails against the culture or society, the criticism is really of a particular way of thinking and the values in the culture.
Second, consider that although we Christians may not be able to influence and change the surrounding culture, we can control their own culture–our own thinking and values. First century Christianity did not see its role as that of changing the Roman Empire but instead that of living faithfully within the context of the surrounding political and cultural system. Paul urged the Corinthians to be in the world but not of the world. To the same church he wrote about waging the battle for Christianity by bringing every thought into captivity. We Christians control our culture by deciding what we allow into our lives. Christians who allow into their lives the world’s music, entertainment, and language will usually find themselves adopting the thinking and values of the world.
Finally, we Christians can by our own lives demonstrate the kind of world we demand to live in. We begin to change the world by changing our own lives. We influence our world by controlling our own lives. We can decide our priorities; we can show what matters most to us by the things we invest our lives in–how we spend our time and money, what we find entertaining, what we find disgusting and repulsive. What the world sees as funny is often sad from God’s viewpoint. What the world values is seldom what God values.
How are we Christians doing in living by God’s standard rather than the world’s standard? What are we doing to bring about the world as it should be?