Certainly not to avoid the world. I do not mean to slam those who chose to seclude themselves off in a cave; such a radical monasticism is for the very, very few. Probably not for you or me. Christ left behind the heavens in order to enter the world and it seems very clear that his hope is for us to remain active in the world. We are never to avoid the world.
But we are not to allow the world's values to overshadow or dismiss the things which Christ came to make known. The world would discourage us to think of others first. The world would attempt to teach us to fear and even hate those who are different. The world would question the decision to give our cloak and even our shirt to someone who asks for such aid.
The world could be understood to be all those messages we constantly hear about beating our competitors (seeing everyone else as a competitor), messages of seeking personal satisfaction above all else, messages which condone our discrimination against particular social or racial groups.
The world has a very well established system for driving these messages home and shaming those who will not fall in line.
We need, as followers of Christ, to make sure we are hearing other messages. We need, as followers of Christ, to talk regularly and honestly about the life to which Christ calls us. We need to surround ourselves with reminders of the spirit of God - which calls us to a new life, an eternal life, a life well lived.
No comments:
Post a Comment