“Be ye in the world, but not of the world.”
Sounds like it was taken right out the gospel, from the mouth of Jesus Christ, doesn’t it?
I’ll admit, it wasn’t until I was about 18 that I was vigorously searching the scripture trying to find this verse. But it turns out, this saying is not a verse in the Bible. As much as I’d heard that saying, and as authoritative as the quote was being used by the Christians around me, I had just assumed that it was a Bible verse. And while it may have some Biblical ground, the principle has been twisted to imply something that is not Biblical: isolation from the secular world.
Hear me out, now.
So many Christians I saw took this saying to mean “Do not be in the world. Do not be of the world.” If Christianity was only about personal spiritual growth and salvation from hell, then I can understand pushing away from the rest of the world. "But how,” teenage me asked myself, “can we justify isolation from the world if our supposed goal is to reach the world and participate in the restoration of the world?”
Listen, I get it. The world is a disgusting and scary place sometimes. We are supposed to “train up a child in the way they should go” and sometimes to develop that foundation, we need to leave some things about the world out until they are strong.
But we cannot stay like isolated, baby Christians. For our own sake and for the sake of the world.
For three years, I studied media and communications at Liberty University. The school did such a great job at helping us study excellent media, though it was sometimes secular, while constantly reminding us that our duty was to advance the kingdom of God.
I remember as a sophomore attending a media banquet where a well-known film producer and instructor was guest speaking. With very little introduction to the clip, the speaker turned our attention to a video. It was a scene from the movie Talladega Nights. It was supposed to be a funny scene about the characters saying grace before a meal and debating whether they should pray to baby Jesus or pray to Jesus at another stage in his life.
I found myself chuckling a little bit at the absurdity of the scene, but also felt a little bit conflicted. This was Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior of the World, they were joking about. I should feel offended, right? I looked around and saw that some people were amused, and some definitely were not amused.
The guest speaker stopped the clip and then began his presentation. His point? Clips likes these remind us that the secular world is begging for the answers to these questions. Even silly questions like whether it is acceptable to pray specifically to baby Jesus. I’m sure you’ve picked up on it too, as so many storylines reflect that of the gospel.
Hollywood is dripping with these theological and philosophical questions and ideas. Unfortunately, not only are these spiritual questions being asked by secular sources, they are also being answered by secular sources. Or most times, they are brushed off as insignificant or as a joke, leaving the viewer still with a philosophical question lingering.
Christian, this is where you come in.
You can either run from secular media and continue privately consuming Christianity for your own spiritual ‘advancement,’ OR, you can allow the Lord to use you to redeem the secular media by starting conversations and answering the questions the world is so longing to know.
If we as Christians are so scared to look at the media and understand the questions the secular world is asking for fear of being ‘tainted,’ how then can we ever claim to say that we care about the lost and secular world?
I’ll give you another example. Recently, the book “The Shack” was released as a movie. I had read the book in high school and yes, there are some pretty unsteady theological implications in the book. When the movie came out, most of what I saw from the Christian community was a boycott. “This is not truth, I will not support it.” I understand where you’re coming from, I do. But if the community of people who “know what the truth is” aren’t taking the time to understand the faults in a movie like the Shack, then those “weaker brother Christians,” young Christians not as secure in their ideas, and the secular world will have the questions both asked and answered by the “incorrect” philosophy of the movie. As all the while we wash our hands and step as far away as we can from what we disagree with.
And honestly, who is the one most affected when we isolate ourselves from the secular world? Are we a better, stronger Christian for it? Or are we letting people slip away because of our own self-righteousness and refusal to understand and answer these questions?.
Let me wrap up by saying: my viewing habits and entertainment consumption as well as the conclusion of this article is my own personal conviction, confirmed between me and the Holy Spirit—and yes, sometimes convicted and corrected by the Spirit. I did not write this to necessarily justify or condone consuming secular media. If viewing secular media is a stumbling block for you, will lead you into temptation, or if you are still a young Christian and are unsure about where you stand on many secular issues, then use your discretion and step back from it.
But if you are purposely plugging your ears, closing your eyes, and running away from the secular world for the sake of self-righteousness or spiritual standing, then stop—stop running and hiding. You’re hurting yourself and you’re hurting the dying lost of the secular world.
Start being a part of God’s restorative justice in redeeming the world. Start having conversations and answering the questions that the world is asking. Starting taking what the world meant for evil—or for humor, or even for vulgarity—and start trusting that the Lord can use you to redeem the media for good.
John 17:15-18, Jesus prays: 15“I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. 16“They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 17“Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. 18“As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world."
We are still have a responsibility to the world. The harvest is ripe.
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