I have a feeling that after reading that title some readers have probably already decided whether to bash or praise my post. Please don’t do that. At least have the decency to read what I have to say before making a snap judgement. Please allow me to start by explaining what I’M NOT trying to say:
That secular sources can replace or even rival what Scripture has to say. Scripture and the Holy Spirit stand alone at the top. Everything else submits to those two.
That the secular “truths” are what point us to the Gospel. It is the biblical principles siphoned from the context or the Spirit’s act of discernment in analyzing the source that can point us to the Gospel.
That every secular source is worth engaging with. Many aspects of secular culture should be left well enough alone. The rest require a lot of caution and discernment. Know your weaknesses and temptations. Be prayerful and on your guard when engaging.
Below is what I AM trying to say:
Engaging (notice, I did not say joining in or adopting) with secular culture gives us opportunities to learn discernment between what is of God and what is not.
Secular stories can expose sinful actions and thought patterns we currently struggle with and force us to evaluate ourselves.
Acknowledge that you should heed warnings about engaging with specific aspects of secular culture from trusted mentors.
Acknowledge that you are not God, which also means you are not the Judge. It is fine to disagree with someone’s opinion about what is ok and not ok to engage with, but be cautious in setting hard and fast blanket rules that everyone must follow to avoid being condemned for sinning. That’s how Israel ended up with Pharisees. Their self-created laws made them blind to the redemptive work of their Messiah.
Beartown Summary
So to set the stage, let me explain the premise of this book I’ve been reading the past couple weeks. The book is called, Beartown by author, Fredrik Backman. It is the story of a dying town whose hopes rest entirely on hockey. They finally have a competitive team and a star player (Kevin) who promises to bring an economic boom if all goes well and they win the final game. Sponsors and businesses pledge to pour their resources into the desperate town, so everyone’s hopes and dreams rest on the outcome of the team’s season.
However, after the team are victors of the semi-final, the 17 year Kevin commits a shocking and horrifying act of rape. The reader is then left to agonize over what will happen next. Will Kevin escape judgement and help his team win the final? Does the town still have a chance at new life? Will the girl reveal the heinous act? Will the town turn Kevin over to the authorities? Or will the people Beartown attempt to crush the girl in order to conceal the evil deed and cling to the hope of economic prosperity?
There are so many quandaries and intertwined relationships in the town and within the hockey team that could force the story to turn down so many different paths.
What Would You Do?
Upon reaching this point in the book, I was struck by a question I sensed the Spirit impress on me. What would you do if your decision had such widespread implications?
Now really wrestle with that question. Forget about hockey and replace it with one of the most important things in your life. Would you do what was right and just even if it crushed every dream you’ve ever had? Would you bring your darkest secret to light in order to do right in God’s eyes even if it caused others pain? What are you willing to sacrifice in order to pursue God?
Those are incredibly difficult questions that are shockingly relevant.
Sharing that story with my men’s group led to an incredible conversation about the extent of our commitment to God and what He asks of us. He doesn’t ask us to make decisions based on temporary earthly benefits. He asks us to make decisions based on a marvelous and eternal hope, one grounded in holiness (Ephesians 4:17-32).
Secular Sources & Discernment
In short, my engagement with this secular story turned me toward the Gospel. The dramatic circumstances of the story and real life application tested my values and thought process. Thanks to the work of the Spirit, my experience led me — and subsequently my other brothers in Christ — to consider deep and pivotal questions that disciples of Christ must face everyday.
Now I think that there are plenty of Christians who would judge me for reading this book. They would question why I would want to fill my mind with that kind of content and ask what the point is. Others may say, “Just read whatever you want, it doesn’t matter.”
There is a tension, a fine line to walk here. The answer lies between those two positions above. It’s the case I started to make at the beginning of this post. Secular sources can turn you toward the Gospel. However, they don’t do that without the discernment of the Holy Spirit.
Don’t avoid all secular sources based on a deep seeded fear of engagement. God has called us into all the world. We can’t cocoon ourselves and avoid it. The Spirit can give us victory over sinful philosophies.
On the other hand, don’t read this as carte blanche permission. God’s freedom doesn’t give us a James Bond-like “license to kill”. Take caution in what you allow to fill your mind. Evaluate whether it informs your already established faith or defines the way you think.
1 “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.”
Romans 12:1-8
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