Living in an Irrelevant Culture
Perplexed expressions on the faces of the youth, increasing rates of people suffering from depression, division, confusion, empty churches, crowded social media, exclusion, fear and sarcasm, anger and disappointed elderly people is the picture I paint in my mind when I think about the current day culture.
Jesus said: "My kingdom is not of this world" (John 18:36). He also taught to pray: "Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10).
I believe that every now and then the culture is put under the test of time and a transition takes place, where the old and irrelevant culture fades away and paves the way for the new to be born from an emerging move. Now both the old and the new may be inspired and triggered by God, but many evolving circumstances and human failure to keep up with the heavenly dynamics almost always, sooner or later lead to the expiration of that culture to the point where it is rendered irrelevant to the youth. Creativity, innovation, aspirations find themselves too big and too alienated from the current culture. We human beings living in a limited world, always try to define and limit what the uncontained Kingdom of God is relaying to our modern day culture.
I do not mean to discourage or diminish the value of the emerging of the new. On the contrary, it is the most fascinating phenomenon we can experience. I consider myself blessed to be part of this generation, as we experience a facet of the Kingdom being manifested in a cultural framework.I consider myself blessed for having the opportunity to take such a close look at the initial phase, its not-yet-corrupt or explained nature. But, having a bigger historical perspective of things can help us to understand the unveiling or the re-questioning of things learnt by the previous generations.
From a bigger perspective, we see newer generations rediscovering what cultures of old had embraced and dismiss many of the cultural phenomena that over time had lost their significance and relevance. The entire tidal waves erasing the old and resurfacing the new does eventually bring to the surface a clearer picture of the eternal and the absolute. That is what is most fascinating in living in such times. the whole rediscovering of the eternal in a new and fresh atmosphere. It's like turning the page and redrawing on a new white page with preconceived influence of which most are unaware of. The wisest man on earth, King Solomon said "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 1:9). But the whole rediscovering of this truth is truly worthwhile as it shakes off all lies, superficial and temporary matters and especially all religious and fictitious dispositions.
The old generation feels offended by the indifference of the new towards the values they upheld and sacrificed so much for, while the new feel misunderstood as they are gifted to see things differently, because they carry in them a purpose,which most are not even aware of themselves.
In my opinion, unless we are wise and flexible enough to see these dynamics being played out through the ages, we will fail to fulfill our purpose in encouraging, empowering and releasing the new to have an impact of greater proportions and advance the expansion of the eternal in a faster and more effective way.
I call this the irrelevant culture to reach out to both the old and the new in the midst of this confusion, in an attempt to bring together both sides into a harmonious, diverse and rich coexistence and collaboration for one purpose only... for the glory of God to have a weightier impact on the earth in the coming days. The old need to quit trying to bring back the old glory or play make-believe. They need to empower the new and delegate.
I would like to close by saying that the only thing that truly matters is loving God. I did not use the word worship, in order to avoid any tendency among the readers to self righteously justify themselves. This is not about justification.On the contrary it is about change. It is about a shaking, a shaking off. Let us not be afraid to embrace change and transformation. Prophets of old warned about the too good to be true news of the coming of the messiah risking of being missed or looked at with unbelief (Habakkuk 1:5). As they say, history repeats itself. All will be forgotten or serve as a lesson. All will vanish and only love will remain. Love is best communicated by listening, accepting, giving... That, my friends, requires a lot of flexibility to change from our part. Have a fun ride with much blessings!
Jesus said: "My kingdom is not of this world" (John 18:36). He also taught to pray: "Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10).
I believe that every now and then the culture is put under the test of time and a transition takes place, where the old and irrelevant culture fades away and paves the way for the new to be born from an emerging move. Now both the old and the new may be inspired and triggered by God, but many evolving circumstances and human failure to keep up with the heavenly dynamics almost always, sooner or later lead to the expiration of that culture to the point where it is rendered irrelevant to the youth. Creativity, innovation, aspirations find themselves too big and too alienated from the current culture. We human beings living in a limited world, always try to define and limit what the uncontained Kingdom of God is relaying to our modern day culture.
I do not mean to discourage or diminish the value of the emerging of the new. On the contrary, it is the most fascinating phenomenon we can experience. I consider myself blessed to be part of this generation, as we experience a facet of the Kingdom being manifested in a cultural framework.I consider myself blessed for having the opportunity to take such a close look at the initial phase, its not-yet-corrupt or explained nature. But, having a bigger historical perspective of things can help us to understand the unveiling or the re-questioning of things learnt by the previous generations.
From a bigger perspective, we see newer generations rediscovering what cultures of old had embraced and dismiss many of the cultural phenomena that over time had lost their significance and relevance. The entire tidal waves erasing the old and resurfacing the new does eventually bring to the surface a clearer picture of the eternal and the absolute. That is what is most fascinating in living in such times. the whole rediscovering of the eternal in a new and fresh atmosphere. It's like turning the page and redrawing on a new white page with preconceived influence of which most are unaware of. The wisest man on earth, King Solomon said "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 1:9). But the whole rediscovering of this truth is truly worthwhile as it shakes off all lies, superficial and temporary matters and especially all religious and fictitious dispositions.
The old generation feels offended by the indifference of the new towards the values they upheld and sacrificed so much for, while the new feel misunderstood as they are gifted to see things differently, because they carry in them a purpose,which most are not even aware of themselves.
In my opinion, unless we are wise and flexible enough to see these dynamics being played out through the ages, we will fail to fulfill our purpose in encouraging, empowering and releasing the new to have an impact of greater proportions and advance the expansion of the eternal in a faster and more effective way.
I call this the irrelevant culture to reach out to both the old and the new in the midst of this confusion, in an attempt to bring together both sides into a harmonious, diverse and rich coexistence and collaboration for one purpose only... for the glory of God to have a weightier impact on the earth in the coming days. The old need to quit trying to bring back the old glory or play make-believe. They need to empower the new and delegate.
I would like to close by saying that the only thing that truly matters is loving God. I did not use the word worship, in order to avoid any tendency among the readers to self righteously justify themselves. This is not about justification.On the contrary it is about change. It is about a shaking, a shaking off. Let us not be afraid to embrace change and transformation. Prophets of old warned about the too good to be true news of the coming of the messiah risking of being missed or looked at with unbelief (Habakkuk 1:5). As they say, history repeats itself. All will be forgotten or serve as a lesson. All will vanish and only love will remain. Love is best communicated by listening, accepting, giving... That, my friends, requires a lot of flexibility to change from our part. Have a fun ride with much blessings!
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