Day Of The Living Dead

To live the Christian life is to live in a state of continual transformation.

J.B. Phillips translation of Romans 12:2 says,

Don’t let the world … squeeze you into its mould

That expresses powerfully what Paul is trying to say.

I would argue that the culture in which we’re living invades our homes and impacts our lives more effectively than any culture in the history of humankind.

The major tool of that invasion is television

Along with the increasingly powerful presence of the Internet.

It is virtually impossible for parents to create little islands of morality and godliness in their homes these days.

Because a flick of the remote or a click of the mouse can take your kids to places that, 20 years ago, they would’ve had to run away from home and go to a major city to experience.

And when you are taking in these cultural messages day after day and year after year, they impact you.

The world begins to squeeze you into its mold

It shapes your thinking and your behavior

Your standards are no longer based on moral absolutes – the commands of God

You begin to accept the world’s standards – often without even noticing it.

There is a powerful message that gets put across in shows like “Will & Grace,” where two of the main characters are homosexual.

It’s a funny show

It’s well-done

It doesn’t argue about whether homosexual behavior is right or wrong, it just displays it as a natural part of life in America.

They’re smart enough, at least in the couple episodes I’ve seen, not to show much physical activity

although they sure talk about it more than enough

They know if they go too far, they’ll turn people off to their presentation of homosexuality as a completely acceptable lifestyle

Maybe you refuse to watch shows like that, but a whole lot of folks are watching them

And every time they watch, there is a little less sense of the immorality of homosexual behavior.

It is a very effective in shaping our thinking.

I’ve talked about one TV show focused on one issue

The argument could easily be multiplied a hundred times

There are shows – it seems like almost all of them – that promote sex outside of marriage as “normal”

There are shows that encourage drinking, abortion, recklessness, disrespect for authority and on and on and on

And if you spend a lot of time watching this stuff, I’ll guarantee you that the world is squeezing you into its mold.

And you may come to church every week

You may read your bible every day.

But if you are allowing this stuff in your head for several hours a day, it is almost certain that the world is winning the battle for your heart and soul and mind.

You are continually being transformed, all right, but not into the image of Christ

You are being squeezed into the mold of American culture.

Your standards of behavior, your values and priorities are no longer being shaped by the Word of God, but the Images of the World.

When you look at your life, do you say, “Where am I not not fulfilling God’s will for me? What is God trying to teach me? How is God wanting to transform me?”