The Danger of Popular Culture

Popular culture is dangerous for the follower of Jesus!

To understand this audacious statement, we must first understand the culture in which we live.

Popular culture

A culture of success

We value recognition, promotion and prosperity. These things drive much of what we experience day by day. To fail in one of these areas is to fail to live in step with the culture.

A culture of entertainment

There is a nearly endless array of entertainment options. Sports, movies (large screen and streaming), concerts, live events, television programing and more dominate our leisure time. We love to be entertained.

A culture of pleasure

Mankind has always pursued pleasure. Why? Because it feels good. We have now abandoned moral restraint relying on the principle that as long as no one is hurt, it is okay. Self-control seems antiquated when it comes to pursuing pleasure, so we tend to abandon it.

A culture of consumption

I want it all and I want it now. We consume to excess, whether it is food, drink or material possessions. We cannot seem to get enough.

A culture of denial

Responsibility is a burden, so accountability is weak. And since we don’t like accountability, we embrace blame. We want to deny any wrongdoing on our part. We tend to deny the motives of altruism, caught in the trap of transactional relationships. And we certainly deny the reality of any ideas or facts that don’t line up with our preconceptions.

A culture of information

There is more information available on the internet than we could absorb in 1000 lifetimes! There is information that is true, partial, misleading and false. Algorithms drive us to bias affirming information, even when that information is verifiably false. So, many people are living in a false reality even as they continue to accumulate ‘knowledge.’

The culture of Jesus vs. popular culture

When we look at these six hallmarks of our culture, we should immediately see how they are not in harmony with biblical truth. As followers of Jesus, we long for Jesus to be exalted, to serve his purposes, and to find fulfilment in obedience to his leadership. Our lives are characterized by sharing and giving away all the good things God has given us. We listen to the correction of our heavenly Father and accept responsibility for what we have done. We carefully read the Bible and make it the cornerstone of all we know.

Understanding the contradiction between a worldly culture and the culture of the Kingdom of God helps us to better see how we are to live. We absolutely must refuse to get swept away by popular culture even as we live in the middle of it. We also realize that not all popular culture is evil and destructive. Even as we live by the word, we live in the world and accept the activities of our culture in great moderation.

And as we mature, we are better able to discern how we should live within and interact with the world. But until we gain enough maturity, there is always a danger in popular culture that threatens to hamper or destroy our walk with Jesus. And that is why solid Christian fellowship is essential to our health. We must spend time in the culture of Jesus with others who enjoy the culture of Jesus.

God has provided us the means to grow, the power to live and the light to shine into popular culture. Let’s do all we can to be that light and change our world.