We live in a Marmite world. I’m sure you know what Marmite is: that British delicacy of yeast extract – loved by some and hated by others with equal passion. Similarly, as our western culture battles for its modern identity, political views and opinions coalesce behind the strongest Marmite voices – loved by their supporters, hated by the other side – all amplified through social media.
The question I want to consider today is how the Christian should navigate this world.
We shall see that this is not a new problem, but it is being played out through a new dimension – social media. Social media has blurred the lines between private and public. It facilitates the global spread of thoughts and ideas that historically were shared only in smaller, more private settings, moderated by the social norms of something called a conversation.
Whilst it is generally true that talking to someone face to face humanises the tone and topic of a conversation, there have always been those who enjoy provocation. This should never be the spirit of the Christian. Rather than wanting to “provoke” to anger, we should take the words of Hebrews 10:24 to heart: “consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works” (KJV).
Examining the context of this verse reveals a situation similar to the one we face today. The book of Hebrews is written to Jewish Christians who had grown up in a close-knit Jewish community that revolved around the temple in Jerusalem. In the initial years following their conversion to faith in Jesus Christ (around 30-50 AD), they were able to maintain their position on the inside of this Jewish community – Christianity was at that early stage essentially a sect of Judaism. As time moved on, divergence ensued, and to be a follower of Jesus Christ meant being shunned by the community, cast out of the temple or synagogue, and cut off from the culture: the priesthood, the covenant and blessings, the temple and the sacrificial system. To love Jesus Christ meant you were hated by the community. This too had become a Marmite world, and many were questioning how they should navigate it.
Had they made a mistake in trusting Jesus Christ as Lord? Was it worth it? Should they ditch Christ to preserve their enjoyment of that wonderful cultural heritage stretching back over millennia to the days of Moses and beyond?
The repeated answer through the entire book of Hebrews is “No, no, no”. They had not made a mistake. They should not turn from Christ. He is worth it, in every way. Taking each aspect of the Jewish cultural heritage, the writer shows how Christ is not only greater than it all, but is in fact the real thing, whereas everything about the culture was but a shadow of the real thing. They were not on the outside. In fact, now that they had found Christ, they had been brought from the outside to the inside; into the heavenly reality.
While our culture is significantly different, the principle holds true. And, just as for the Hebrew believers, three logical consequences flow from this conclusion for the Christian, three principles to focus on: the necessity of staying close to the Lord (faith); the hope that Christ alone can give (hope); and the good that we can do (love). We will look at the first of these now and then at the other two in a second article.
Focus on Staying Close to the Lord
“Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water” (Hebrews 10:22).
To paraphrase: don’t worry about saving the earthly culture – it is but a shadow. Focus instead on staying close to the Lord and enjoying our heavenly heritage.
Does this mean that we should ignore what is happening in the world around us?
Certainly not! But rather than champion a cause, or a celebrity with a cause – as if a man and a movement can bring the necessary change – we ought to turn the issues of society that concern us over to the Lord. Remember the words of the Apostle Paul: “I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:1-4).
As the verse above asserts, the real change needed is the salvation of the soul. This ought to be our ultimate concern regarding society, not simply the preservation of historic Western culture. For, although its flourishing can be linked to its foundational Christian principles, that alone was not enough. It took people with a living faith in Jesus Christ to practise those principles from the inside out. Without that kind of faith, the principles become a shell that will easily crack, which is what we are experiencing today. But this ought not to worry us, for there was no Christian society when Paul penned these words. Rome ruled with an iron fist, yet this world was “turned . . . upside down” (Acts 17:6) by the simplicity of the gospel: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31).
If faith alone in the risen Lord is what changed society in the first place, then it goes without saying that the same faith is sufficient to change it again.
