Cultural Pulse

Have you read through Jeremiah, lately? Wow! Why is it that the only verses quoted out of Jeremiah are the positive ones, like, "I know the plans I have for you...Plans to give you a future and a hope"? That's not exactly where God started with his message to his people!

Reading through the text, I am finding many parallels between our culture and the culture that God was condemning - yes, condemning. I'm all for being positive, but I'm equally "all" for being honest. See if these words ring a bell:

A long time ago you broke out of the harness. You shook off all restraints.

You said, "I will not serve!"

And off you went, visiting every sex-and-religion shrine on the way, like a common whore. You were a select vine when I planted you from completely reliable stock. And look how you've turned out - a tangle of rancide growth, a poor excuse for a vine. Scrub, using the strongest soaps. Scour your skin raw. The sin-grease won't come out. I can't stand to even look at you!

How dare you tell me, "I'm not stained by sin. I've never chased after Baal sex gods!"

Well, look at the tracks you've left behind in the valley. How do you account for what is written in the desert dust - tracks of a camel in heat, running this way and that, tracks of a wild donkey in rut, sniffing the wind for the slightest scent of sex. Who could possibly corral her! On the hunt for sex, sex, and more sex - insatiable, indiscriminate, promiscuous.

Slow down. Take a deep breath. What's the hurry? Why wear yourself out? Just what are you after anyway?

But you say, "I can't help it. I'm addicted to alien gods. I can't quit."

Just what are we after anyway?

Last night, Emily and I went to Barnes & Noble to do a little Christmas shopping, part of which included checking out periodicals. If you want to get a feel for the climate of our culture, as portrayed by the media, head to the periodicals section. But warning! Men, do this with your wife or, if you're single, take a bro with you. It's kind of crazy what has crept into mainstream society as "acceptable" and "normal". Don't get me wrong, I don't think our culture is more depraved than cultures concurrent with or preceding our own. Mankind keeps making the same mistakes and falling into the same deadly traps.

However, because of man's aptitude for making a mess out of even the best of situations, I believe that we must fight against desensitization. One of the ways to do that is learning from the past. What did the Israelites do that was so wrong? Can we avoid making the same mistakes? Are we now making the same mistakes? If so, what can we do to make amends? What has God done in our behalf that we need to respond to?

These are helpful questions to ask not only on a cultural level, but on an individual level. God referred to Jeremiah as a "one man defense system against [Israel's] culture". Why not join Jeremiah in our day? It might help to remember some of God's promises to Jeremiah from the first chapter of the book:

I'll tell you where...
I'll tell you what...
I'll be right there...
I'll back you up...

Love it!

I truly believe God is calling each one of us to defend our hearts and the hearts of his people against cultural influences that are toxic. And I truly believe that we must understand the culture and be "culturally relevant" if we are to be heard. God had his finger on the pulse of Israel's culture. He knew where they went, what they listened to, what they said, how they spent their time, how they thought. And he helped Jeremiah put his own culture in perspective, seeing it through God's eyes.

Father, help us see our culture, our lives, through your eyes. And remind us to fight for the hearts of the captives.