A Christian Response to a Culture in Chaos
A Broken Heart
Has your heart been heavy lately?
Life has been hard this week, and my heart is broken. It’s broken because we are a country that cares so little for life.
We kill our babies in the womb and our children in their schools. Our young women die alone on trains full of people.
Our husbands and fathers are murdered as they stand in the public square, engaged in conversation—because in a world of increasing polarization, dialogue is what they hope will provide a way forward for our country.
When I opened up my Facebook feed, I didn’t understand that I was going to watch a young lady die. Alone in a crowd. With no one even holding her hand or whispering words meant to bring comfort in those last moments. It was gutting.
When Social Media Algorithms Flourish But Souls Shrivel
Thankfully, I was spared from seeing a man assassinated on a livestream, but I was horrified that instead of the usual condolences—or even silence—I saw video after video of rejoicing. Soon it became obvious that, again, the algorithms are prospering as they serve up hundreds of hours of polarizing new content and keep us scrolling.
But what about our souls? How long will it be until we have no souls left?
Rome, Then and…Now? Parallels to Our Culture
I used to wonder how a society like Rome got to a place where its coliseums were filled with spectators cheering for the horror that took place.
Now I know, because we are there.
We are Rome.
When hundreds of people openly rejoice in murder, when thousands shrug it off, when communication ceases and shouting at each other is not enough…what hope is there for a culture?
I am a Christian. So, I know that no culture is without hope.
Rome murdered its infants and beat its women and its slaves. Rome fed its Christians to the lions and rejoiced. Rome should have been the end of Christianity. It could have been. But God.
But God took the blood of those martyrs that soaked the ground and grew beauty too inspiring to ignore.
The Romans hated. The Romans jeered. And while they did, the Christians cared for their persecutors.
Why?
Because that is what Christ taught us to do. We are made in the likeness of our Creator, so we ought not be surprised that our souls burst into bloom and our societies flourish when we follow His ways.
How the Early Christians Transformed a Culture
The Christians raised the unwanted Roman babies who were “aborted” by being left in the wilderness to die after they were born. The Christians nursed their Roman neighbors sick with the plague, when Roman society was too scared of getting sick to care for them.
The Christians brought dignity and help to women and slaves by calling them equals and treating them as such. The Christians engaged with Roman philosophy, ethics, and law.
Apologists like Justin Martyr and Tertullian challenged Romans to think about justice, truth, and virtue in new ways.
Long before Constantine, Christians were paving the way for a thriving society.
The Christians stepped up, and dark times grew bright. A hopeless society burst forth with life.
A Christian’s Calling in a Culture of Chaos
By looking back, I know that there is a way forward. Our society isn’t without hope.
But I am just a mom. I am just one. What must I do? Where do I go from here?
I will start where I am—in my home and in my community—by proclaiming the hope of the Gospel and telling of the God from whom that hope flows.
Since this post is already nearly as long as a Tolstoy novel, I will use other posts to more fully expound on three ways that I, as a homeschooling mom, can proclaim hope in my day to day. The three ways are:
- Telling about the truth of God.
- Telling about the goodness of God.
- Sharing the beauty of God.
Truth, Goodness, and Beauty: The Antidote to Despair
We often think of truth and goodness when we think of God. Sometimes, though, we forget about beauty. However, C.S. Lewis and many philosophers before and after him were unmoving in their declaration that we need all three.
Beauty, Lewis said, draws us to and teaches us about goodness, and goodness draws us to and teaches us about truth.
Truth, goodness, and beauty are inextricably linked because God IS truth, goodness, and beauty.
When confronted with ugliness and lies and wickedness, I will respond with goodness, and truth, and yes, beauty. When faced with a world that tells us truth is subjective, goodness is relative, and beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I say they are all concrete and objective. I also say they are just what our world needs.
Anyway, I know that when I’m dealing with heartbreak, I need all three together.
But as I said, more on that later.
In the meantime, how are you dealing with the confusion and turmoil of the world today? How are you sharing Hope with your your family? Your neighbor? Your community? Would you tell me below?