Youth Director & Family Ministries

I want to write about something that has become extremely relevant in my life over the past couple of months. I love sharing what I’m learning and walking through in hopes that it can give you some insight to my life and maybe even find similarities to what you are learning. I want to talk about “cancel culture.” If you don’t know what this is, it is the idea that someone can be “cancelled” by others based on something they said or have done. This can be something based on morals, politics, social actions, even economics -really anything. Usually it looks like the extremity of cutting someone off because they don’t hold the same value or opinion as you do. People can spend their entire lives doing good but can get cancelled over one small thing they have said. Matthew Chapter 18 answers the question of ‘how many times should we forgive?’ and Jesus says ‘70 x 7’. Our responsibility is to extend forgiveness, restore, and believe the best. We release the demand for justice to God and forgive as Christ forgives us. We don’t have to accept or endorse; we are called to love.
We as believers need to be careful of cancelling things in culture that we need to contextualize. We cannot write off culture as a whole, but the idea that there are things in this world that cannot be redeemable for the sake of the Gospel. We need to prioritize faithfulness to God regardless of circumstance. Whether it be a pandemic, an election, or even an argument with a friend. We can shift our idea from ultimate abolition to ‘life is too short for me to spend my time hyped up on what is going on here.’ This is what I would call a redeeming culture, being able to use the world around us to point to the Gospel rather than writing off every idea that we don’t immediately agree with. Don’t let this world have you thinking that the ‘cut off game’ is better than the power of reconciliation. Of course, there are always exceptions. In this case, anything that violates God’s Word should be “cancelled” but we can advocate in a way that is lawful, peaceful, and courageous. We can ask ourselves how can trends, controversies, assumptions, intentions, actions, etc. be used to bring God glory?
A great example is in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23. Paul lets you know right away that he is no longer under any obligation and ownership to the enemy or of any human beings. Therefore, his commitment to people is not based on anyone’s preferential desire of him to be a specific way. Paul is saying that he is not driven by the self-interest of others or to please man/culture. He even goes as far as using language that the Corinthians would understand by calling himself a slave in order to be faithful to the one thing that cannot be cancelled the truth of the Gospel and our calling as Christians in this world. Understanding that there is a difference between reaching people and trying to please them. The Gospel will always offend for the right reasons, never the wrong ones. We must learn to be wise missionaries to the world and utilize culture rather than writing it off. This means being in the world but not of the world. God would never cancel or give up on a relationship with His people.
Our thinking must be fueled, formed, and anchored on God’s word rather than what a society starved for controversy says we should be upset about. We should take every thought captive and conform it to the truth letting God be the filter of how we think not social media, not Hollywood, not the news. Asking ourselves ‘What is the Biblical response?’ or even ‘Am I wrong in this situation?’ (and learning to normalize it.) What are you living for? The approval of God or of the world around you?
Grace & Peace,
Rachel