The Wrestle Between Culture and Religion: Modern Christianity

George Gerbner once wrote, “You are what you consume.” Which means, what you expose yourself to defines who you are. Consequently, we can be defined by so many things: the books we read, the food we eat, the music we listen to, the advice we heed, and even our religion. I have seen something like that somewhere in the Bible.

Matthew 6:22 – The eye is the lamp of the body. So if your eye is sound, your entire body will be full of light.

“Religion is a lifestyle.” – Apostle J. Zulu.

Religion is in the way we live, the way we dress, the very air we breathe, the food we buy in the markets when we are arguing with vendors over prices and unfair quantities. It’s in our relationships, our health, our environment. It’s about submitting to the governance of heaven — of God. Religion is one of the toughest and most sensitive topics in human history, in my opinion. Which brings me to the current reality, the Goliath to religion: culture. Hold on, I’m not talking about the norms and values that have been passed down from generation to generation from our ancestors… but rather, I’m talking about modern culture.

Modern culture looks like the baggy jeans and shirts, the sway and skip of the feet, and the head bobbing while Kendrick Lamar blasts through your ear pods. Yes, that culture, it’s on our phones, in our recipe books, in our schools, and quite frankly, it’s making its way into our church too. You can’t escape it.

“Seek the kingdom of God first, and everything else shall fall into place.” – Matthew 6:33.

That’s fine. That’s all fine, really. It’s a powerful message as we sit and listen to the pastors preach on Sundays, leaning on the pulpit as if bracing themselves for a hard but necessary truth. The reality is that it’s easy to read out words, but harder to put them into action. No one talks about it. Some might, but not enough.

We don’t talk about how hard it is as a young lady to listen to a middle-aged woman teaching you what to wear and how to present yourself to the public and society when we are not entirely experiencing the same society per se. Times have changed with the advancements in technology that have made us inch closer to a global village which threatens to dilute the culture and ideals we have. I cannot emphasise enough how much easier it is to read the Holy Bible and potentially memorise the words that serve as guidelines on how to lead a Christian life than it is to put the ink into reality. The desire to adhere to modest dressing standards is constantly contested by the fashion trends that say otherwise that we view on social media.

It’s hard to tell yourself that you’ll stay in the secret place while your friends are going out and enjoying life, snapping each moment. No one talks about the lingering gazes on couples on the road, or that temptation gnawing at you to listen to that catchy Doja song one more time. The word assures us in – Proverbs 24:16 – For a righteous man falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked are overthrown by calamity. Easy, huh? How easy is it to just zap through that statement and nod your head at how true and comforting it sounds? But we don’t talk about the moment between the fall and the rise — the seconds that determine what you’ll do next. No one talks about the pain that shoots up your leg as you struggle to get up. The bruises on your knee. The stones biting and piercing your palm. No one talks about how hard that moment is — when you fall and have no idea how to get up. The Bible tells you to get up. But how do you get up when you’re overthrown by debates on whether to engage in radical feminism or submit to the man in your life? How do you get up when your career choice insists you support the LGBTQ+ community, but your congregation looks at that with disdain? How do you get up when you are a young lady praying for a Godly marriage, while being a virgin in this generation is something you could potentially be mocked for? Do we talk about the in-between? The struggle between our religious lifestyle and cultural glamour?

It’s hard being a Christian. People don’t understand it. “Practice what you preach,” they’ll say — when you slightly bend. It’s hard trying to survive as a young Christian lady when everything you do is the complete opposite of everyone else. It’s awkward sticking out like a sore thumb.

“No, I don’t drink alcohol. I don’t smoke weed or do drugs.”

“I don’t listen to those kinds of songs.”

“I don’t think sleeping with a man before marriage shows how much we love each other.”

“I don’t wear that kind of jewellery or that kind of cologne with off-the-script names.”

Gosh, it’s hard leading a Christian life. It’s difficult — when masses study the theory, but an individual has to undergo the practical. We do receive strength from above to keep going. We do pray for virtues. But standing on the ground and seeing all those judging looks from familiar faces — it’s not just hard. It’s painful. It’s heartbreaking. It’s lonely. It’s exhausting — mentally, physically, and emotionally.

Then maybe that’s what we need to be taught more than the dos and don’ts. The Where.

Hebrews 12:2 – Looking away \[from all that will distract] to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith \[giving the first incentive for our belief] and is also its Finisher \[bringing it to maturity and perfection]. He, for the joy \[of obtaining the prize] that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising and ignoring the shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

That’s where our focus should be.

To look unto Him — our gazes to linger on Him.

Jesus walked this path.

And maybe — just maybe — the fall won’t be so hard.

And the rising won’t be harder.