For the Culture
In Numbers 25:1-8, we see a heartbreaking story. God’s people had come out of Egypt, through the wilderness, and were now about to step into the promised land.
As they encamped near the land they would soon possess, the King of the Moabites, Balak, became nervous and wanted to distract or deter what he perceived as a threat to his kingdom.
His plan was to send prostitutes into the camp of the Israelites to distract, divide, and ultimately defeat the people. Unbelievably, not only did God’s people fall victim and begin to sleep with the prostitutes, but soon they went as far as to accept their invitation to worship the Moabites' gods instead of the one true God.
This story is a painful reminder of what happens when we, as God’s people, begin to worship the culture. Anything that takes the place of God in our lives is an idol, and for so many of us, we are worshiping our lives away at the altar of whatever most everyone else is doing.
We are called, as followers of Jesus, to live differently—to not be manipulated or controlled by the culture and to worship God alone.
So how do we fight the idol of culture in our lives? We need to assess whether we are being influenced or if we are an influence. Notice, the children of Israel didn’t initially worship the Moabites' gods. First, they began to have a relationship with the prostitutes of Moab.
Before they worshiped the gods of the culture, they were influenced by the culture. James 4:4 tells us that a loving friendship with the world is the opposite of a healthy relationship with God. While this doesn’t mean we should be cruel or mean-spirited to those who are not Christ-followers, it does call us to ask ourselves if we are influencing the world around us or if the culture is influencing us.
We also fight this idolatry in our lives by considering whether the fruit of what we worship is life-giving or not. This act of sin, for God’s people in Numbers 25, led to the death of many men. When we worship culture, it will lead to the death of our peace, joy, and the freedom Jesus came to give us.
“There’s a way of life that looks harmless enough,” Proverbs 14:12-13 in The Message says, “look again—it leads straight to hell. Sure, those people appear to be having a good time, but all that laughter will end in heartbreak.”
Why is it that many people who are wealthy, influential, and culturally relevant struggle with depression, substance abuse, and even suicide? They have everything the world has to offer… how come they aren’t happy and fulfilled?
The culture can’t be our God. If it is, it will only lead to hurt, sadness, and death in our lives. We cannot live for the culture and find our true purpose. Instead, we must live in a way that our lives worship only Jesus and what He has done for us.
