Once upon a time, in a faraway land, lurked two con-men dressed as traveling tailors. They came to the Emperor’s castle to counsel him in matters of class. They fitted him up in what they called chic, assuring him all would cower at such vogue prowess. Then they told him the true secret of the textile: it could only be seen by the intelligent; those who couldn’t see it were simply square. The Emperor was afraid to let on that he, in fact, couldn’t see the fabric. Eventually, however, their praises went to his head. He held a festival to show off his new outfit. His subjects tried frantically to see the magic suit, but didn’t let on that they, in fact, only saw his birthday suit. That is, until a little lad in the crowd laughed and pointed, “Look! The Emperor has no clothes!”
Unfortunately, we Christians, like the subjects of the Emperor, are too often are deceived by empty philosophies. What we need to do is stand up and say “The Emperor has no clothes!” We cannot be effective disciples of Christ when we compromise with the culture.
We must realize that everything under the sun can be used either for God’s glory, or for selfish ambition. There is no such thing as a sacred/secular dichotomy. Everything is the King’s property; every square inch of everything is His. As Ephesians 1:20-22 tells us, "He raised [Jesus] from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion...And He put all things under His feet."So why are we so tempted to wander from the light? Why are “Christians” sometimes hard to distinguish from the world? Perhaps it has to do with a lingering love affair with the world because of our chronic short-term memories. We forget what Paul tells us in Eph 5:8-10,
"For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord."
We forget that we are called to live in antithesis to a wicked culture. In our forgetfulness we are attracted to the lies of promised fulfillment in the desires of our flesh, and we chase after the shadowy mirage while leaving the lighted path of the Savior.
“By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes.” That Shakespearean line was quoted in the 1983 Disney film, “Something Wicked This Way Comes.” It's the story of two boys, Jim and Will, who stumble into a traveling carnival run by Mr. Dark, the very embodiment of evil. The townsfolk are drawn to it because Mr. Dark promises to fulfill their deepest vain, sensual, selfish longings, but he requires horrific prices afterward. His offers are candied apples on the outside, but full of razorblades just beneath the surface. The townsfolk are enslaved by their foolish choices until the two boys end up saving the day by defying Mr. Dark.
Don’t you think that God meant what He said when He told us to come out from among them (i.e., those that follows foolish ways) and be separate? We are God’s own special people, a chosen generation, so that we can walk as living proof of the awesome power of our God who called us out of darkness and into His marvelous light!
Some would like to protest, “But we need to relate to the world in order to reach them!” Yes, but we are not to compromise with their godless culture. The very concept of being light means to be separate from the darkness, purposely, deliberately, distinctly separate. What comes across to the lost when Christians are not different from themselves? In their minds Christianity becomes a weak, hypocritical, emasculated religious crutch. It gives them warranted reason to laugh at Christians, who always seem behind in turning out their cheap imitations of the world.
Denying the cultural carnival and calling the Emperor naked is not easy. C.S. Lewis once said, “The problem with Christians is not that they are too hard to please, but that they are far too easily satisfied.” We are deceived by the Master Deceiver into thinking that instant gratification of fleshly desires will satisfy and fulfill us, and that God’s path is too hard and not worth the work. It is hard work, but it is truly satisfying. I think of God’s "boundaries" as Lewis once described the heaven of Narnia; the further in and further up you go, the wider and more immense the freedom, the richer and more fulfilling the good life truly is.
We were once in darkness, but now we are clothed in light. The culture is gnarly out there, and seeks to destroy us, or at least make us ineffective. It's not neutral, and neither should we be. We will take back what is rightfully our King’s when we're completely saturated with His word and light. The lost will see the difference, and they will either hate us more, or wonder how we are so transformed. When we walk in light and obedience to God, by His grace, we will show the lost how powerful God’s truth is, we’ll build up Kingdom-culture, and live not the easy life, but the truly good life.
“Look everyone, the Emperor has no clothes!”
~A
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