Helping Believers Find True North in Times of Cultural Change
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Something was different this particular morning a few days ago. As I stepped out into the fresh air, the mood, the ambiance had a different tenor. The flurry of heightened activity in the woods behind my house was palpable, almost frantic.
The mood contrasted with the more carefree mornings of summer when the birds went about their singing and activities in a happier, more predictable way. Things had definitely changed. Almost overnight.
The similarity to our current cultural situation seemed striking. While some speak of a new normal, it doesn’t feel normal to me at all. The tenor, the mood in our world is noticeably different.
New to birding, I studied this natural phenomenon in my backyard. I suspected it to be part of fall migration. Did you know that birds not only increase their eating and put on weight prior to migrating, many actually shrink their organs as well? Fascinating! And many fly as far as 600 miles per day.
The birds are so in tune with nature and their surroundings, they sense when it is time to prepare for migration. And their God-given instincts seem to guide them to their migratory destinations.
But what about Christians? How alert are we to emotional changes in others and what do they mean? Or more importantly, to the subtle and spiritual changes in our midst?
Do we lose our sense of direction too easily when political seasons change? It seems to me that some do. Would you agree?
What grieves and concerns me most is not what I see in our culture generally, though there is plenty about that which concerns me, but what I sometimes see in Christians. I feel disturbed as I see many Christians so caught up in political tirades and angry, vitriolic verbal attacks on people of different perspectives. It seems anything but Christ-like.
Ephesians 6:12 reminds us: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places”.
I fear that many miss the spiritual nature of what is happening and more importantly the divine opportunities that exist.
The important questions are: What is God doing in the midst of these changes? And what is our role and purpose as individuals and as the church?
How do we help those we lead to stay anchored in Christ and their Christian faith amidst the current cultural turmoil?
I imagine you have your own answers but here are three strategies that I use in my own life and try to encourage in others. Perhaps you can (or already do) remind people of the following.
#1: Pray for spiritual discernment. What is God doing in the current environment and how can I best cooperate with His plan?
#2: Incline our hearts to hear and empathize. I try to understand what others think, believe, and feel so that I am able to speak into their situation in a way they can hear.
#3: Embrace our secure Identity in Christ. I keep in mind that my identity is rooted in Christ (not in my political affiliations) and that while of course, I have opinions, on a deeper level I am a ‘citizen of a better country’.
After all, Christians know that the greatest lies yet before us. God has placed us in this season for a reason. Even if we’re not completely sure what it is or how to navigate in this time, God does. And God will lead us.
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