Me First, Don’t Talk to Strangers, and other Cultural Norms

Ever stopped to think about the cultural norms that stand in the way of the kind of life-change we hope will happen in the lives of people?  We want so badly for unconnected people to find their way into a group.  We know they need it if they’re ever going to experience the life giving joy of community.  And yet…don’t talk to strangers is one of the very first things we all learn as children.

Moral of the story?  As much as we know that community is an essential ingredient for spiritual growth…it is a truly countercultural idea to most people.

What about  the near universal idea among pastors that real life-change only comes when we begin to live beyond ourselves?  Ever slowed down long enough to really grapple with the fact that the me first gene is the natural order.  It’s not even learned!  We are born with it.

Moral of the story?  We might dream that everyone would experience the thrill of a truly other-centered life…but we must face the fact that it is a truly countercultural idea for almost everyone we ever meet.

Why the reminder?  More of the same only leads to the probable future.  Becoming like Christ, presenting everyone fully mature in Christ, countercultural though it may be, is only attainable as a result of a new trajectory.  It is the ultimate preferred future.