Strategy to resist

Therefore he who is prudent will keep silent in such a time,

for it is an evil time.

Seek good, and not evil,

that you may live;

and so the LORD, the God of hosts, will be with you,

as you have said.

Amos 5:13-14

For over forty years now, the trend in American evangelical culture over some societal downgrade is to talk about it loudly, to huddle in our sanctimony and point our fingers, glad that “we aren’t that way”. And then slowly, nearly imperceptibly, that same degradation makes its way into the church by a slow dirty seep. And we hardly notice it, may still rail against it, but have not seen that our tactic to fight it was completely flawed.

You don’t fight the sinful culture by screaming against it. Social change is not affected by Pharisaical responses. This warning from the prophet Amos shows us a more prudent path. When evil runs amok, we fight it by seeking a holy God, following Him personally, and helping one another to stay true to the Lord so that individually we are not taken in by the culture seepage of sinful suggestions. Then we together start working on holy actions that show our world how it is supposed to be.

Screaming on social media will not bring this kind of change. It will instead polarize and anger everyone. Political alignments alone are not the sole solution. Politics are run by sinful people and we have to be aware that brings sinful, cultural seep into the church if we aren’t careful. Instead of adopting cultural means to fight the culture, we should try what God says. Personal discipleship IS THE KEY! Helping one another seek God, personally win against temptations, grow in Christlikeness, live out the gospel, do acts of kindness and justice, care for one another AND the neediest that our culture runs over.... all that will show the world the evil they are in and the God that is with us. Thus the evil days are turned back.