Following the Culture
Let's turn to 2 Chronicles 33 this week, and spend time learning from the life of Manasseh, one of the kings of Judah. If you think the president or leader of your people is bad, just listen to how the Bible describes Manasseh: "He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, following the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites. He rebuilt the high places his father Hezekiah had demolished; he also erected altars to the Baals and made Asherah poles. He bowed down to all the starry hosts and worshipped them. He built altars in the temple of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, 'My Name will remain in Jerusalem for ever.' In both courts of the temple of the LORD, he built altars to all the starry hosts. He sacrificed his children in the fire in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, practised divination and witchcraft, sought omens, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the LORD, arousing His anger. He... led Judah and the people of Jerusalem astray, so that they did more evil than the nations the LORD had destroyed before the Israelites." (2 Chronicles 33:2-7, 9)
Wow! He was truly a godless man - which is surprising, considering the fact that his father Hezekiah had been one of the very best and most godly kings of Judah. The apple, it seems, sometimes doesn't fall too close to the tree.
Cultural Influence Over God's Word
Notice how the Scripture says that Manasseh "followed the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites" (v3). God called His people - the Israelites - to be different to the other nations. They were to be defined by holiness and love, and by a commitment to their God. But Manasseh let the world around him influence him away from the ways of his God. He ended up doing the things his God despised but his culture encouraged - erecting altars and Asherah poles, bowing down to the stars, building altars in the temple, getting involved with witchcraft and divination and mediums and spiritists, and so on.
How many Christians today, I wonder, allow the culture around them to influence their ways of life - even if the Word of God denounces it? I think in our day the media plays such a huge role, and we end up trusting the media over the Word. We end up watching things on our screens that God clearly denounces. But because the culture encourages it, we end up going along with it.
The Danger of Mixing God and Culture
Today's church often says nothing against sex before marriage, or homosexual practice, or involvement with other religions or spiritual groups, when clearly these are things that we are encouraged to denounce and leave behind according to Scripture.
Be careful, friends, not to let the voice of the culture drown out the voice of your God! And be careful not to mix the two, like Manasseh - seeming to be a follower of God, but immersing yourself in godless thinking and living. How this hurt Manasseh in the long run! And how it hurts us too, when our lives are more defined by the culture around us than the God within us.
