Part 2 (of 2)
Being countercultural but not counter culture means turning the other cheek but not a blind eye to the campaign underway to eradicate Christian influence from our nation. Jesus instructs us to be as wise as serpents and innocent as doves – recognizing the coming persecution yet trusting Him to see us through it. Wisdom with innocence is an acute awareness, not naive ignorance, of efforts to remove the only barrier to absolute dependence on human authority – faith in Christ. It is that faith that should invoke both confident assurance and heartfelt empathy in believers, knowing the futility of eliminating the outward evidence of Christianity when its inward essence is immutable. In other words, society can walk away from biblical values and standards but can’t alter facts like the existence of God, the sinfulness of man, and our need for Christ.
Secular leaders only attack visible manifestations of Christianity because they don’t have spiritual eyes to see the invisible. Yet no amount of reinventing God in our image, denying Jesus, or suppressing His followers has any impact on who God is. Love remains the entirety of the Father’s character. Only He can provide true healing, joy and prosperity. Despite claims to the contrary, no politician, professor or publicist can remove or replace Him as Savior.
Standing on those truths, the appropriate response of those with dual citizenship in an eternal Kingdom and an aging democracy should be Prayer, Care and Share. We alone know the dire consequences and ultimate outcome of elevating self, glamorizing greed, and pursuing happiness at all costs. That reality should create a sense of urgency within churches to make disciples who will boldly shine the light of Christ and speak truth with grace.
Christianity has been countercultural for much of its history so this period in America should be familiar territory. Scripture provides Christians and churches with a gameplan for responding without combating or conforming. That path is not about regaining control of the 7 Mountains (Government, Education, Religion, Family, Business, Media, and Entertainment). In fact, our Post-Christian reality today is in part a reaction to resentment over past “imposition” of Christian norms. Instead, we should wisely discern the motives and strategies of those who now lead those spheres, distinguishing between them and those lured by their sales pitch – the empowerment of Selfism and freedom of relativism. In the last blog post, we unpacked those differences and biblical responses for the first 3 “mountains” – today we address the final 4:
4. Family
Leaders’ Motives
Many parents implant “traditional” values into their children, only to find out when kids get off the bus or come home for Spring Break that they’ve learned (and possibly internalized) exactly the opposite at school. The authority of an earthly or heavenly Father hinders reprogramming of young minds, impeding the dependence needed to control a populace and the materialism needed to fuel an economy. Redefining marriage, convoluting genders and devaluing unborn children are less about defending rights than undermining America’s foundational social structure.
Followers’ Delusions
The next generation slowly distances from the teachings of unenlightened parents, concluding they’re out of touch with the modern world. Awakened to a higher way of thinking yet unaware they’ve surrendered their identity as children of God, fatherless “sheep” wander aimlessly, settling for lesser labels based on sexuality or politics.
Biblical Response
- Understand and expose agendas behind compelling youth to conform and compromise
- Model biblical marriage and parenting, showing how it surpasses the world’s alternatives
- Show compassion toward misguided youth seeking solace in self, social media, and “success”
- Realize discipleship begins at home and equip parents to be disciple-makers
When we’re not with family at home, we’re most often at workplaces, which are under tremendous social pressure not to tolerate Christian expression in any form…
5. Business (Economy)
Leaders’ Motives
Corporate executives conveniently adopt progressive ideals when they become society’s prerequisites for doing business or increasing sales. Those who genuinely care instituted policies and touted causes long before they became in vogue. Business and political leaders have a shared interest in promoting consumerism by encouraging worship of self and celebrities. What the Bible calls idols are advertised as bare necessities we all deserve. What Scripture says we should diligently work for become expected entitlements. CEOs and politicians profess concern and compassion, but their underlying drivers are profit and power.
Followers’ Delusions
Eager to pursue the happiness Americans were promised, many buy those lies, trading eternal treasures for worldly wealth. We worry and stress about maintaining a standard of living that would deplete earth’s natural resources if everyone consumed as much as the average American. We crave acceptance and fear poverty, clinging to possessions. We trust in our capabilities, companies, and Uncle Sam rather than God to provide. We search for meaning and purpose in our work, fueling the Great Resignation, desperately trying to replace the hope we abandoned.
Biblical Response
- Contrast ulterior motives of secular leaders with the unconditional love of a heavenly Father
- Expose that stark difference by practicing true compassion toward neighbors and coworkers
- Reject the root of most evil, taking a countercultural approach and attitude toward money
- Break the false dichotomy between pastors as ministers and businesses as funders
Infiltrating and ridding the places we live and work of Christian influence cannot be done without a tremendous amount of support from media through all available channels…
6. Media
Leaders’ Motives
Publications whose primary source of revenues is advertising cannot afford to offend anyone. The exclusivity of Christianity is offensive and its truth scares a profession that no longer values truth in reporting. Newspapers once reserved editorials for back pages, but media now opines with slanted views on all current events. Google and social media networks structure search engines and screening to exclude or deemphasize results that promote Christian concepts.
Followers’ Delusions
Cancel culture leverages media to enforce compliance with principles espoused by media. Renegades advocating “traditional” ideas like sinful nature, binary genders, biblical marriage, preborn viability, and mistrust of government are monitored and turned in by citizen patrols. In their minds, silencing nonconforming dissenters is rendering a public service.
Biblical Response
- Disprove media’s narrative about Christians by not leading with a (verbal) air attack, but confronting the culture war with a ground attack of prayer, humility, confession and compassion
- Stop expecting those who don’t believe in God to follow His laws; instead focus on leading them to Christ by training disciples with a sense of urgency about sharing the Gospel
Entertainment mirrors media, setting the standard and serving as a barometer for morality…
7. Entertainment (Morality)
Leaders’ Motives
Tolerance, our nation’s highest virtue, defines immorality as “accusing someone of doing wrong”. Media and entertainment wield tolerance as a hammer to censor and ridicule Christians, who dare to “judge” the behavior of others. Whatever secularism decides is right and wrong becomes the (vacillating) moral law of the land that entertainment promotes and media enforces. Relativism’s objectors, namely Christians, aren’t given mainstream airtime.
Followers’ Delusions
Americans want to believe people are inherently good and appreciate when others mind their own business. Non-believers work hard to suppress their consciences and see no need for Christ. They gravitate to the lies of media and entertainment, not recognizing that secular humanism, like all systems, hands over authority to someone, in this case to (sinful) humans rather than a (perfect) Father. Placing faith and giving control to those who do not have our best interests at heart has consequences in this life and the next.
Biblical Response
- Understand that Hollywood is intentionally teaching children to call good evil and evil good
- Prioritize the Great Commandment, loving Jesus by loving those who seem hardest to love
- Deal with sin within the Church to reclaim a right to speak to culture outside our churches
Our countercultural lifestyles should present a compelling alternative when society awakens to the ambitions of godless leaders and the delusion of living for self.
It’s Your Turn…
Is there hope for revival in our nation, even in its advancing Age of Decadence? Please pray for our leaders and our fellow Americans. Despite appearances of animosity or ambivalence, the fields here are ripe for harvest.
