Christians and Culture by Dr. Tim Woodruff

Rudyard Kipling’s famous poem If opens with the line, “If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs” and closes with the encouragement, “you’ll be a man, my son.”

Whatever you may think of the poem’s merits (as either poetry or philosophy), the lines above are worth hearing and considering for Christians.

Difficult Times
We live in difficult times. The world seems to be unraveling with unparalleled speed. Wars and rumors of wars. Quakes and floods and fires. Economic disasters. Nuclear meltdowns. It’s hard to turn on the TV or radio, to open a newspaper or magazine, without coming face-to-face with the latest crisis-to-end-all-crises.

Certainly those in the media do everything in their power to hype the size and scope of every troubling event and whip their audiences into hysterical frenzies. (They do this, of course, because crises and catastrophes, quarrels and conflicts boost ratings and sell advertising.) However, even the most cynical consumer of the media must confess there is an abundance of disturbing events just now that seem to generate hysteria in reporters and talk-show hosts. It’s enough to make you nostalgic for “slow news days.”

My sense is that this sustained barrage of tragedy, trouble, and tension is having a profound effect on our culture. We are losing confidence in our leaders and institutions. We are growing more pessimistic about the future. We are afraid and anxious and fretful. Increasingly, we are living in anticipation of the next shoe dropping.

Call it mass despair, or a descent into hopelessness, or anxiety overdose. The symptoms are growing irritability, a quickness to complain and criticize, pervasive cynicism, Chicken-Little-syndrome (“The sky is falling!”), and barely suppressed rage. Difficult times tend to give people permission to behave in difficult ways. As a result—more and more—people are “losing their heads.”

What’s a Christian to do in times like these?

It is tempting for us to join the hand wringing, to weep and wail like those who have no hope. We are just as capable of “losing our heads” as the rest of humanity—if we fail to filter bad news through the lens of faith.

Shining Lights
It seems to me, however, that difficult times are an opportunity for people of faith to shine. Others may despair because they focus on circumstances and situations. But Christians focus on a God who loves the world, who has made promises about its fate, and who guides the affairs of men. We worship a God who is our strength and our fortress. We take great comfort in a God who walks with us through the valley of the shadow of death and who protects us in the storm.

Surely faith ought to make a difference in difficult times. Here are a few things people of faith can do to keep our heads.

(1) Remember the promises of God. Search out, meditate on, and memorize Scriptures that speak about God’s love and care for us, his awareness of our circumstances, and his faithfulness in times of trouble.

(2) Refuse to give in to anxiety and panic. Adding our voices to the chorus of wailing only makes things worse. A calm, trusting response to bad news is our best way of witnessing to the power and worth of faith.

(3) Make sure your treasures are in Heaven (Matthew 6:19-21). As people of faith, our hearts are set on things that moth and rust cannot ruin, that even terrorism or nuclear disaster cannot destroy.

(4) Focus less on what has happened and more on what you can make happen. You can bemoan an earthquake or you can send help—which is more productive? You can rail against corrupt government or you can write an encouraging letter to your congressman—which will do more good? You can complain about the economy or you can find ways to help a friend who has lost his job—which demonstrates a Christ-like spirit?

These difficult times present God’s people with a unique opportunity to swim against the tides of our culture. They give us a chance to keep our heads and show ourselves to be Christians in more than name alone.

Dr. Tim Woodroof is a freelance writer and speaker. He and his wife Julie make their home in Nashville, Tennessee. 
www.timwoodroof.com