KINGDOMCONCEPT (8)
UNDERSTANDING THE KINGDOM CONCEPT OF CULTURE
Culture encompasses many things. Once you under-stand the culture of a people, you understand the people.Everything that makes a nation a nation and a people apeople is wrapped up in their culture.As we have already seen, for example, every country has land territory. Without land there is no country. Historically, the land apeople inhabits significantly influences the culture they develop.Desert dwellers, for instance, are unlikely to develop a maritime cul-ture unless they live along the coast. Their culture will reflect the arid environment in which they live.
A second key component of every country is language. A coun-try is not a country unless it has one major language. Many nationsof the world have numerous sublanguages and dialects. But everynation always decides on one major language because language identifies you as a country. Language is the key to unity. It is also akey factor in a nation’s culture.Again, as we saw earlier, all countries have laws. Every nationdraws up a body of laws that everyone must obey to ensure peace,order, and security for the citizens. Without law there is no country because the absence of law leads to chaos, and you can’t run a coun-try or maintain a stable government on chaos.
The laws of a nation reflect the culture of that nation and vice versa. Culture and law each affect the other. Every nation also utilizes specific and unique symbols to represent it and to help inspire unity, patriotism, loyalty, pride of nation,and a strong sense of national identity. The most familiar symbolof any nation is, of course, its flag. A nation’s flag symbolizes its history, the sacrifices, suffering, and triumphs of its people, andwhat the people have constituted themselves to be. All of thesethings relate also to culture. Few national symbols are more powerful than the flag.Another element that all nations share in common is a constitu-tion.
As we saw in Chapter Six, a constitution is a contract between the people and their government. In many ways a constitution is acultural document because it contains in codified form the laws,ideals, and values of the people (or of the king, depending on whowrote it).Furthermore, all nations have a moral code. A nation’s moralcode embodies the moral standards under which the people haveagreed to live and by which they have chosen to govern themselves.In most cases, a moral code consists of both
written and unwritten standards.
The written standards are expressed through laws andstatutes while the unwritten standards are transmitted primarily through traditions, customs, and culture. Respect other people’sproperty; do not bear false witness in court; do not steal; do notmurder; do not commit adultery all of these are part of the moralcode in virtually every nation and government on earth.
A seventh common characteristic of all countries is shared values.
In order to have a country that runs effectively, the people
must share the same values in common.
The people as a whole must agreethat they all value the same thing,
such as life or peace or freedom Every nation also develops its own customs. Customs derivefrom a nation’s shared values. A custom is a customaryway of doingsomething, a behavioral pattern that is not only commonly acceptedbut also expected. Overall, customs generally are consistent throughout a nation, although there are many regional variations.Quite often a nation’s customs are so distinctive that they
become apoint of identification for that nation, such as certain
traditional manners of dress or kinds of foods. Finally, there are
social norms. These are similar to customs buthave greater
force and authority within society.
Social norms arestandards of speech, thought, and behavior that are accepted by thewide majority of the people as right and proper. Violate a customand you may be thought eccentric; violate a social norm and you riskbeing ostracized.All of these togetherland, language, laws, symbols, constitu-tion, moral code, shared values, customs, and social
norms com-prise what we call culture.
WHAT IS CULTURE?
So what is culture specifically? First of all, culture is the act ofdeveloping
the intellectual and moral faculties by education, expertcare, and training.
In other words, culture is the developing of a peo-ple’s intellectual
capacities and moral awareness through a combina-tion of formal
instruction and informal modeling. Parents andsociety teach children
the elements of the culture, and as the chil-dren learn and internalize
those cultural elements, they begin to livethem.Secondly, culture
is the enlightenment and excellence of tasteacquired by intellectual
and aesthetic training. Simply stated, we allcome to think
like the environment we grow up in.
Our intellectualinteraction with our environment literally produces
a way of think-ing in us that becomes our way of life, and so we
become trained in our culture. None of us are born with a culture.
We are born intoaculture, but we are not born witha culture.Culture
may also be defined as the integrated pattern of humanknowledge,
belief, and behavior that depends upon man’s capacityfor learning
and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations.
From a sociological perspective, culture is the customary
beliefs,social forms, and material traits of a racial,
religious, or socialgroup.
In the business world, culture defines the set of shared atti-tudes, values, goals, and practices that characterize a company orcorporation.
As for a scientific definition, culture means to grow in a preparedmedium. That’s a powerful image. Each of us arrived on earth in aprepared
medium the country and culture of our birth.Immediately we began
to grow in that medium, shaped and influenced by the customs, values, moral code, and social norms of ourparents, community, and society.
We learned the language and thelaws. This growth medium is also
where we learned our prejudicesand our hatreds,
our jealousy and our greed and our pride.
Then one day we discovered the Kingdom of Heaven. We wereborn
again and became citizens of God’s Kingdom. And that’s where the challenge really began. After spending 20, 30 or 40 years in
a cer-tain medium that trained us to think a certain way, we suddenly
find ourselves in a whole new culture a new growth medium with
a whole lot of new things to learn and a whole lot of old things tounlearn.
And therein lies the problem: How do we get rid of the
oldculture in our hearts and minds to live in the new one?
That’s theuniversal challenge for every dual citizenship believer.
For you see, culture is also what lies at the very center of thegreat
cosmic conflict between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness.
And earth is the battleground. The battle forearth is the battle for culture.
And culture is the manifestation ofthe collective thinking of a people.
In other words, whatever thepeople as a whole think collectively
their beliefs, values, ideals,etc. becomes their culture.
So whoever controls the minds of thepeople controls the culture.
In fact, whoever controls the minds willcreate the culture.
The Bible says that as a man thinks in his heart,
so is he (seeProv. 23:7 KJV). This means that the way
we think determines whowe become.
In this context, the heart is the mind.
And the Kingdomof God is a kingdom of the heart.
Therefore, the King of Heaven isbattling for the minds of
the creatures He created in His own image.
MANIFESTATIONS OF CULTURE
Culture manifests itself in a number of ways.
1. Values.Shared values are a defining characteristic of aculture and a nation. What we value reveals who we are.Our values
reflect our character. Basically, a value is abelief or conviction that is considered worthy in and ofitself by a person or group.
It is a standard or ideal thatregulates conduct or policy.
Valso relate to one’spersonal philosophy.
Our values define our attitudes,behavior, and view of the world.
If we want to learn howto live in the culture of the Kingdom,
we must learn thevalues of the Kingdom. Jesus the King articulated
His value system at the very beginning of His public min-istry:
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom ofheaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will becomforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit theearth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for right-eousness,
for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure inheart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is thekingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:3-10).
This particular portion of Jesus’ teaching
is commonly known asthe “Beatitudes,” or “blessed sayings,”
from the Latin word beatus(blessed). We could even call them
the “Be-attitudes” because theydescribe the way
Kingdom citizens should “be” in character, atti-tude, and behavior.
Values are extremely powerful and form the foundation forbehavior. They guide the people of a nation in identifying whatbehavior is acceptable or unacceptable. Whether explicitly stated orunspoken yet recognized,
values form the foundation of nations andprofoundly shape the lives and daily experiences of their citizens.Society depends on certain
values in order to function, such ascooperation and honesty.
Businesses also depend for their functionon such values
as integrity, honor, fairness, and kindness.
2. Priorities. Culture manifests itself in the things weregard as most important. In other words, whatever weprioritize in life reveals our culture.
If we prioritize thesanctity of marriage, our culture will reflect it with laws,customs, and social norms that strongly discourage andeven penalize divorce, adultery, and other “marriagebusters.” Prioritizing the sanctity of human life will pro-duce a culture that protects the elderly and the unbornand refuses to sanction the harvesting of human embryos for stem cell research.Jesus got right to the heart of priorities when He said:
So do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “Whatshall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” For the pagansrun after all these things, and your heavenly Father knowsthat you need them. But seek first
His kingdom and Hisrighteousness, and all these things
will be given to you aswell (Matthew 6:31-33).
3. Behaviors.The way we behave reveals our culture; it’sthat simple.
4. Standards.The standards we apply in everyday lifereveal whether we have a culture that indulges andencourages mediocrity or a culture that inspires excel-lence. Do we take pride in the appearance of our housesand churches and businesses and cities and streets? Dowe place a high premium on quality in all things? Or arewe satisfied with just
enough to get by? Either way, ourstandards reflect our culture.
In fact, our culture willnever rise higher than our standards.
5. Celebration. Our culture is revealed in the things wecelebrate
as well as in the manner that we celebrate. Areholidays and other celebrations opportunities for funand laughter and togetherness
as families, or excuses fordrunkenness and other kinds of excess?
As Kingdom citizens, we need to take our cue from our Kingbecause His attitudes and responses reveal Heaven’s culture.Whatever makes Jesus angry should make us angry and whatevermakes Him happy should make us happy. Whatever fills Him withjoy should make us joyful also and whatever brings Him sorrowshould grieve our spirits as well.
6. Morality.The level of our moral conscience and con-sciousness reveals the level of our culture. Do we shrugour shoulders at adultery and other forms of infidelity? Do we turn a blind eye to pedophilia and other kinds ofsexual abuse? Are we willing to “normalize” perversionin our society?
Or are we committed to standing for, sup-porting, and promoting the highest standards of moralpurity in every area?
7. Relationships.Who do we relate to? How do we relateto them?
How do we treat people? How do we handle the destitute, those who are hurting, and those who areabused? What is our attitude toward the poor? There’s aculture in Heaven that is revealed when poverty isaround.
When people are hungry, the culture of Heavenfeeds them. When they are thirsty, the culture of Heavensays, “I’ve got something for you to drink.” Our culture isrevealed in how well we take care of each other.
8. Ethics. Is honesty our best policy, or is honesty our onlypolicy? If someone overpays us, do we keep the money ordo we take it back? Kingdom ethics is always proactive.Jesus said, “Do to others as you would have them do toyou” (Luke 6:31). This “rule” applies to every area of life. Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how manytimes shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me?Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seventimes, but seventy-seven times” (Matthew 18:21-22).
In response to Peter’s question, Jesus pulled a number out of
His hat to make His point. “Seventy-seven times” is not
a literal figure; it is seven times extended indefinitely.
In other words, in Kingdomculture, forgiveness is ongoing.
We forgive as often as necessary, justas we would hope to be forgiven as often as necessary. Again, wetake our cue from our King as He has
forgiven us, and keeps onforgiving us, so are we to do with others.
9. Social norms.Whatever is regarded as normal in oursociety
reveals our culture. Is shacking up “normal”? Areout-of-wedlock
pregnancies and births “normal”? Ischeating on taxes “normal”?
Is corruption in government“normal”? Are honesty, integrity, and
fidelity both athome and in the workplace “normal”? Is sexual purity“normal”?What are the “norms” of the Kingdom of Heaven?
Here are a fewthat Kingdom Ambassador Paul called “the fruit of the Spirit”: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithful-ness, gentleness
and self-control. Against such things thereis no law (Galatians 5:22-23).
10. Dress.Culture also manifests itself in the way the peopledress. How we dress speaks volumes about our valuesand ideals as well as how we feel about ourselves. All ofthese relate to culture.Of course, since Kingdom citizenship and Kingdom citizens areinvisible, there is no such thing as a Kingdom “uniform” or pre-scribed manner of dress.
But there is such a thing as a certain demean or that Kingdom citizens are to carry themselves with thatidentifies them as children of the King.
Simon Peter’s instructions tofemale citizens of the Kingdom
applies equally in principle to every citizen:
Your beauty should not come from outward adornment,
such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry andfine clothes.
Instead, it should be that of your inner self,the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which isof great worth in God’s sight (1 Peter 3:3-4).
11. Foods.Food has always been a cultural distinctive.Certain dishes,
certain ingredients, and certain season-ings are associated
with certain regions of the world orcertain regions within nations.
Curry is a distinctive ofIndian cooking. Beans and rice are staples in Mexico.Hot dogs are undeniably American. In the Bahamas, it’speas and rice, conch chowder, and guava duff.
As Kingdom citizens on earth we need food to strengthen andnourish
our bodies, but we also need heavenly food to nourish ourspirits.
Jesus said:Kingdom Concept #8 197 Man does not live on bread alone,
but on every word thatcomes from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4b).
At another time, He told His inner circle of followers:My food...is
to do the will of Him who sent Me and to fin-ish His work (John 4:34)
.
12. Permits.We reveal our culture by what we permit.Remember, what we bind on earth is bound in heaven,and what we loose on earth is loosed in heaven. If we“loose” lewdness and immorality, those things will char-acterize our culture. If we “loose” corruption and dis-honesty, we will have a corrupt and dishonest culture.On the other hand, if we “loose” love, joy, peace,patience, kindness, and the like, our culture will reflectthese traits.
As Kingdom citizens, we have the authorityto bind and loose for the social, moral, and spiritual goodof our fellowmen. This is why it is important for us to beinvolved in and to engage the popular culture and chal-lenge it with the culture of Heaven.
13. Acceptance.Our culture is defined also by what weaccept. More and more people who claim to be believersand even Kingdom citizens are buying into the popularculture to such a degree that by their language andlifestyle it is impossible to tell which Kingdom theybelong to—the kingdom of the world or the Kingdom ofheaven. The more often we hear about new cultural,social, or moral ideas, the more accepting we becomeuntil eventually it’s not new to us anymore. We haveaccepted it, and now it has become a cultural norm.
That’s why we need to be always alert and ever careful toevaluate all the new ideas and philosophies that comedown the line. Some of them may be fine. But many, per-haps most, will be contrary to the culture and values and ideals of the Kingdom of Heaven. When this is the case,as Kingdom citizens we have the duty and responsibilityto refuse to accept them.
14. Rejections. On the other hand, our culture manifestsalso in what we reject. Modern popular culture hasreached the point where it rejects
almost nothing. Anattitude of “anything goes” prevails in many circles.Political correctness rules the day with its calculated
anddeliberate determination to be nice to everybody, avoidhurting
anyone’s feelings, and refusing to take a stand byjudging anything
as evil, immoral, or improper. Today’sculture rejects the very idea of
absolute standards; every-thing is relative.
Kingdom culture, on the other hand,rejects relativism in favor of the
absolute standard of theunchanging Word of God. If some things are right, thenother things are wrong and must be rejected. Jesus said itthis way:
He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does notgather with Me scatters(Matthew 12:30). We can’t have it both ways. We can’t play both ends against themiddle. There is right and there is wrong, and Kingdom citizensmust reject the wrong and embrace the right.
15. Distinctions. Culture manifests also in our distinctions.
What distinguishes us from other cultures? What makesthe Kingdom culture distinctive from the culture of theworld? I’m not talking about outward things like clothingor hairstyle as much as inner qualities of character, val-ues, and norms. Paul said:For you were once darkness, but now you are light in theLord. Live as children of light (Ephesians 5:8).
16. Quality standards. And finally, culture manifests in ourstandards
of quality. God never does anything halfway,and neither should His
children. In everything we do,Kingdom citizens should always be on the cutting edgeof excellence, leading the way for everyone else ratherthan following in the world’s wake. In Kingdom life wedon’t have to be perfect in what we do because we areimperfect people, but that is no excuse to accept shabbywork, half-finished projects, or a just-enough-to-get-byattitude.
Our King demands our best. And He deservesnothing less.
For this very reason, it should be our joy togive our
very best to the King...and to give it freely andwillingly.
UNDERSTANDING THE KINGDOM CONCEPT OF CULTURE
Culture encompasses many things. Once you under-stand the culture of a people, you understand the people.Everything that makes a nation a nation and a people apeople is wrapped up in their culture.As we have already seen, for example, every country has land territory. Without land there is no country. Historically, the land apeople inhabits significantly influences the culture they develop.Desert dwellers, for instance, are unlikely to develop a maritime cul-ture unless they live along the coast. Their culture will reflect the arid environment in which they live.
A second key component of every country is language. A coun-try is not a country unless it has one major language. Many nationsof the world have numerous sublanguages and dialects. But everynation always decides on one major language because language identifies you as a country. Language is the key to unity. It is also akey factor in a nation’s culture.Again, as we saw earlier, all countries have laws. Every nationdraws up a body of laws that everyone must obey to ensure peace,order, and security for the citizens. Without law there is no country because the absence of law leads to chaos, and you can’t run a coun-try or maintain a stable government on chaos.
The laws of a nation reflect the culture of that nation and vice versa. Culture and law each affect the other. Every nation also utilizes specific and unique symbols to represent it and to help inspire unity, patriotism, loyalty, pride of nation,and a strong sense of national identity. The most familiar symbolof any nation is, of course, its flag. A nation’s flag symbolizes its history, the sacrifices, suffering, and triumphs of its people, andwhat the people have constituted themselves to be. All of thesethings relate also to culture. Few national symbols are more powerful than the flag.Another element that all nations share in common is a constitu-tion.
As we saw in Chapter Six, a constitution is a contract between the people and their government. In many ways a constitution is acultural document because it contains in codified form the laws,ideals, and values of the people (or of the king, depending on whowrote it).Furthermore, all nations have a moral code. A nation’s moralcode embodies the moral standards under which the people haveagreed to live and by which they have chosen to govern themselves.In most cases, a moral code consists of both
written and unwritten standards.
The written standards are expressed through laws andstatutes while the unwritten standards are transmitted primarily through traditions, customs, and culture. Respect other people’sproperty; do not bear false witness in court; do not steal; do notmurder; do not commit adultery all of these are part of the moralcode in virtually every nation and government on earth.
A seventh common characteristic of all countries is shared values.
In order to have a country that runs effectively, the people
must share the same values in common.
The people as a whole must agreethat they all value the same thing,
such as life or peace or freedom Every nation also develops its own customs. Customs derivefrom a nation’s shared values. A custom is a customaryway of doingsomething, a behavioral pattern that is not only commonly acceptedbut also expected. Overall, customs generally are consistent throughout a nation, although there are many regional variations.Quite often a nation’s customs are so distinctive that they
become apoint of identification for that nation, such as certain
traditional manners of dress or kinds of foods. Finally, there are
social norms. These are similar to customs buthave greater
force and authority within society.
Social norms arestandards of speech, thought, and behavior that are accepted by thewide majority of the people as right and proper. Violate a customand you may be thought eccentric; violate a social norm and you riskbeing ostracized.All of these togetherland, language, laws, symbols, constitu-tion, moral code, shared values, customs, and social
norms com-prise what we call culture.
WHAT IS CULTURE?
So what is culture specifically? First of all, culture is the act ofdeveloping
the intellectual and moral faculties by education, expertcare, and training.
In other words, culture is the developing of a peo-ple’s intellectual
capacities and moral awareness through a combina-tion of formal
instruction and informal modeling. Parents andsociety teach children
the elements of the culture, and as the chil-dren learn and internalize
those cultural elements, they begin to livethem.Secondly, culture
is the enlightenment and excellence of tasteacquired by intellectual
and aesthetic training. Simply stated, we allcome to think
like the environment we grow up in.
Our intellectualinteraction with our environment literally produces
a way of think-ing in us that becomes our way of life, and so we
become trained in our culture. None of us are born with a culture.
We are born intoaculture, but we are not born witha culture.Culture
may also be defined as the integrated pattern of humanknowledge,
belief, and behavior that depends upon man’s capacityfor learning
and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations.
From a sociological perspective, culture is the customary
beliefs,social forms, and material traits of a racial,
religious, or socialgroup.
In the business world, culture defines the set of shared atti-tudes, values, goals, and practices that characterize a company orcorporation.
As for a scientific definition, culture means to grow in a preparedmedium. That’s a powerful image. Each of us arrived on earth in aprepared
medium the country and culture of our birth.Immediately we began
to grow in that medium, shaped and influenced by the customs, values, moral code, and social norms of ourparents, community, and society.
We learned the language and thelaws. This growth medium is also
where we learned our prejudicesand our hatreds,
our jealousy and our greed and our pride.
Then one day we discovered the Kingdom of Heaven. We wereborn
again and became citizens of God’s Kingdom. And that’s where the challenge really began. After spending 20, 30 or 40 years in
a cer-tain medium that trained us to think a certain way, we suddenly
find ourselves in a whole new culture a new growth medium with
a whole lot of new things to learn and a whole lot of old things tounlearn.
And therein lies the problem: How do we get rid of the
oldculture in our hearts and minds to live in the new one?
That’s theuniversal challenge for every dual citizenship believer.
For you see, culture is also what lies at the very center of thegreat
cosmic conflict between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness.
And earth is the battleground. The battle forearth is the battle for culture.
And culture is the manifestation ofthe collective thinking of a people.
In other words, whatever thepeople as a whole think collectively
their beliefs, values, ideals,etc. becomes their culture.
So whoever controls the minds of thepeople controls the culture.
In fact, whoever controls the minds willcreate the culture.
The Bible says that as a man thinks in his heart,
so is he (seeProv. 23:7 KJV). This means that the way
we think determines whowe become.
In this context, the heart is the mind.
And the Kingdomof God is a kingdom of the heart.
Therefore, the King of Heaven isbattling for the minds of
the creatures He created in His own image.
MANIFESTATIONS OF CULTURE
Culture manifests itself in a number of ways.
1. Values.Shared values are a defining characteristic of aculture and a nation. What we value reveals who we are.Our values
reflect our character. Basically, a value is abelief or conviction that is considered worthy in and ofitself by a person or group.
It is a standard or ideal thatregulates conduct or policy.
Valso relate to one’spersonal philosophy.
Our values define our attitudes,behavior, and view of the world.
If we want to learn howto live in the culture of the Kingdom,
we must learn thevalues of the Kingdom. Jesus the King articulated
His value system at the very beginning of His public min-istry:
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom ofheaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will becomforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit theearth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for right-eousness,
for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure inheart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is thekingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:3-10).
This particular portion of Jesus’ teaching
is commonly known asthe “Beatitudes,” or “blessed sayings,”
from the Latin word beatus(blessed). We could even call them
the “Be-attitudes” because theydescribe the way
Kingdom citizens should “be” in character, atti-tude, and behavior.
Values are extremely powerful and form the foundation forbehavior. They guide the people of a nation in identifying whatbehavior is acceptable or unacceptable. Whether explicitly stated orunspoken yet recognized,
values form the foundation of nations andprofoundly shape the lives and daily experiences of their citizens.Society depends on certain
values in order to function, such ascooperation and honesty.
Businesses also depend for their functionon such values
as integrity, honor, fairness, and kindness.
2. Priorities. Culture manifests itself in the things weregard as most important. In other words, whatever weprioritize in life reveals our culture.
If we prioritize thesanctity of marriage, our culture will reflect it with laws,customs, and social norms that strongly discourage andeven penalize divorce, adultery, and other “marriagebusters.” Prioritizing the sanctity of human life will pro-duce a culture that protects the elderly and the unbornand refuses to sanction the harvesting of human embryos for stem cell research.Jesus got right to the heart of priorities when He said:
So do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “Whatshall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” For the pagansrun after all these things, and your heavenly Father knowsthat you need them. But seek first
His kingdom and Hisrighteousness, and all these things
will be given to you aswell (Matthew 6:31-33).
3. Behaviors.The way we behave reveals our culture; it’sthat simple.
4. Standards.The standards we apply in everyday lifereveal whether we have a culture that indulges andencourages mediocrity or a culture that inspires excel-lence. Do we take pride in the appearance of our housesand churches and businesses and cities and streets? Dowe place a high premium on quality in all things? Or arewe satisfied with just
enough to get by? Either way, ourstandards reflect our culture.
In fact, our culture willnever rise higher than our standards.
5. Celebration. Our culture is revealed in the things wecelebrate
as well as in the manner that we celebrate. Areholidays and other celebrations opportunities for funand laughter and togetherness
as families, or excuses fordrunkenness and other kinds of excess?
As Kingdom citizens, we need to take our cue from our Kingbecause His attitudes and responses reveal Heaven’s culture.Whatever makes Jesus angry should make us angry and whatevermakes Him happy should make us happy. Whatever fills Him withjoy should make us joyful also and whatever brings Him sorrowshould grieve our spirits as well.
6. Morality.The level of our moral conscience and con-sciousness reveals the level of our culture. Do we shrugour shoulders at adultery and other forms of infidelity? Do we turn a blind eye to pedophilia and other kinds ofsexual abuse? Are we willing to “normalize” perversionin our society?
Or are we committed to standing for, sup-porting, and promoting the highest standards of moralpurity in every area?
7. Relationships.Who do we relate to? How do we relateto them?
How do we treat people? How do we handle the destitute, those who are hurting, and those who areabused? What is our attitude toward the poor? There’s aculture in Heaven that is revealed when poverty isaround.
When people are hungry, the culture of Heavenfeeds them. When they are thirsty, the culture of Heavensays, “I’ve got something for you to drink.” Our culture isrevealed in how well we take care of each other.
8. Ethics. Is honesty our best policy, or is honesty our onlypolicy? If someone overpays us, do we keep the money ordo we take it back? Kingdom ethics is always proactive.Jesus said, “Do to others as you would have them do toyou” (Luke 6:31). This “rule” applies to every area of life. Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how manytimes shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me?Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seventimes, but seventy-seven times” (Matthew 18:21-22).
In response to Peter’s question, Jesus pulled a number out of
His hat to make His point. “Seventy-seven times” is not
a literal figure; it is seven times extended indefinitely.
In other words, in Kingdomculture, forgiveness is ongoing.
We forgive as often as necessary, justas we would hope to be forgiven as often as necessary. Again, wetake our cue from our King as He has
forgiven us, and keeps onforgiving us, so are we to do with others.
9. Social norms.Whatever is regarded as normal in oursociety
reveals our culture. Is shacking up “normal”? Areout-of-wedlock
pregnancies and births “normal”? Ischeating on taxes “normal”?
Is corruption in government“normal”? Are honesty, integrity, and
fidelity both athome and in the workplace “normal”? Is sexual purity“normal”?What are the “norms” of the Kingdom of Heaven?
Here are a fewthat Kingdom Ambassador Paul called “the fruit of the Spirit”: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithful-ness, gentleness
and self-control. Against such things thereis no law (Galatians 5:22-23).
10. Dress.Culture also manifests itself in the way the peopledress. How we dress speaks volumes about our valuesand ideals as well as how we feel about ourselves. All ofthese relate to culture.Of course, since Kingdom citizenship and Kingdom citizens areinvisible, there is no such thing as a Kingdom “uniform” or pre-scribed manner of dress.
But there is such a thing as a certain demean or that Kingdom citizens are to carry themselves with thatidentifies them as children of the King.
Simon Peter’s instructions tofemale citizens of the Kingdom
applies equally in principle to every citizen:
Your beauty should not come from outward adornment,
such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry andfine clothes.
Instead, it should be that of your inner self,the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which isof great worth in God’s sight (1 Peter 3:3-4).
11. Foods.Food has always been a cultural distinctive.Certain dishes,
certain ingredients, and certain season-ings are associated
with certain regions of the world orcertain regions within nations.
Curry is a distinctive ofIndian cooking. Beans and rice are staples in Mexico.Hot dogs are undeniably American. In the Bahamas, it’speas and rice, conch chowder, and guava duff.
As Kingdom citizens on earth we need food to strengthen andnourish
our bodies, but we also need heavenly food to nourish ourspirits.
Jesus said:Kingdom Concept #8 197 Man does not live on bread alone,
but on every word thatcomes from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4b).
At another time, He told His inner circle of followers:My food...is
to do the will of Him who sent Me and to fin-ish His work (John 4:34)
.
12. Permits.We reveal our culture by what we permit.Remember, what we bind on earth is bound in heaven,and what we loose on earth is loosed in heaven. If we“loose” lewdness and immorality, those things will char-acterize our culture. If we “loose” corruption and dis-honesty, we will have a corrupt and dishonest culture.On the other hand, if we “loose” love, joy, peace,patience, kindness, and the like, our culture will reflectthese traits.
As Kingdom citizens, we have the authorityto bind and loose for the social, moral, and spiritual goodof our fellowmen. This is why it is important for us to beinvolved in and to engage the popular culture and chal-lenge it with the culture of Heaven.
13. Acceptance.Our culture is defined also by what weaccept. More and more people who claim to be believersand even Kingdom citizens are buying into the popularculture to such a degree that by their language andlifestyle it is impossible to tell which Kingdom theybelong to—the kingdom of the world or the Kingdom ofheaven. The more often we hear about new cultural,social, or moral ideas, the more accepting we becomeuntil eventually it’s not new to us anymore. We haveaccepted it, and now it has become a cultural norm.
That’s why we need to be always alert and ever careful toevaluate all the new ideas and philosophies that comedown the line. Some of them may be fine. But many, per-haps most, will be contrary to the culture and values and ideals of the Kingdom of Heaven. When this is the case,as Kingdom citizens we have the duty and responsibilityto refuse to accept them.
14. Rejections. On the other hand, our culture manifestsalso in what we reject. Modern popular culture hasreached the point where it rejects
almost nothing. Anattitude of “anything goes” prevails in many circles.Political correctness rules the day with its calculated
anddeliberate determination to be nice to everybody, avoidhurting
anyone’s feelings, and refusing to take a stand byjudging anything
as evil, immoral, or improper. Today’sculture rejects the very idea of
absolute standards; every-thing is relative.
Kingdom culture, on the other hand,rejects relativism in favor of the
absolute standard of theunchanging Word of God. If some things are right, thenother things are wrong and must be rejected. Jesus said itthis way:
He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does notgather with Me scatters(Matthew 12:30). We can’t have it both ways. We can’t play both ends against themiddle. There is right and there is wrong, and Kingdom citizensmust reject the wrong and embrace the right.
15. Distinctions. Culture manifests also in our distinctions.
What distinguishes us from other cultures? What makesthe Kingdom culture distinctive from the culture of theworld? I’m not talking about outward things like clothingor hairstyle as much as inner qualities of character, val-ues, and norms. Paul said:For you were once darkness, but now you are light in theLord. Live as children of light (Ephesians 5:8).
16. Quality standards. And finally, culture manifests in ourstandards
of quality. God never does anything halfway,and neither should His
children. In everything we do,Kingdom citizens should always be on the cutting edgeof excellence, leading the way for everyone else ratherthan following in the world’s wake. In Kingdom life wedon’t have to be perfect in what we do because we areimperfect people, but that is no excuse to accept shabbywork, half-finished projects, or a just-enough-to-get-byattitude.
Our King demands our best. And He deservesnothing less.
For this very reason, it should be our joy togive our
very best to the King...and to give it freely andwillingly.
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