My perspective of "Being in the world but not of the world."

The idea of being in the world but not of the world is something drilled into Christians, and for myself, something drilled into me from Sunday School (so, the playground) up. It is a statement and summary of and about the fundamental basis of being a Christian. One, it acknowledges that we, (as Christians), are not of this world; we are born-again. Secondly, it acknowledges that we are in the world. The statement of "Being in the world but not of the world" presents the tension and reality Christians are forced to live and grapple with.

So firstly, I want to look at being "not of the world". I was raised on the assumption that this statement had to do with abstaining from drugs, binge drinking, pre-martital sex, cigarettes and swear words. These were presented as the basic evils of the fallen world that we live in. My attention as a Christian went towards these sorts of things. I used to do things like say "Truck" instead of fuck ... that was as far as being in the world but not of the world went for me. As I started taking the person of Jesus seriously things started to really take on deeper meanings though. I was blessed for a good few years with an amazing youth group that allowed me to ask questions, my time in EZ Company, the Vineyard youth group was hugely formative for me.

Now, to explore the statement "being in the world but not of the world" we have to look at something it says; we are in the world. My understanding of the world I lived in used to be largely dictated by what the black box told me and day to day experiences at school, church and Christians camps ... but hugely what the black box told me. I used to watch so much TV, it was ridiculous. I would watch it from 4pm when I get home from school until bed time, actually. As I started getting that much older I started to see that the world wasn't all the black box made it out to be.

I was shocked that an estimated 30,000 children just like me were dying of starvation daily. All of a sudden things the black box had told me were funny, like how "Everyone has AIDs" were not funny. In fact, after not even watching Team America World Police (which is, for reference still a freaken hilarious film) I was singing along and laughing about how "Everyone has AIDs". Then I remembered how when I was 13 my family visited Cambodia and one day we visited this place where a friend of Mum and Dad's friend worked. This was a place where a lady my parents had mutual friends with worked with young girls orphaned by AIDs. These girls, mainly 13 or so parents had died of AIDs and they were left to provide for themselves and their brothers and sisters. All of a sudden, what the black box was telling me was funny, really wasn't that funny.

As I allowed myself to be confronted by the realities of the world I had to "[be] in" my view of being "not of the world" took on new and deeper forms. In letting myself confront the world and its harsh realities, all of a sudden the Gospel made a whole lot more sense. My comfort preached to me by my black box was disturbed - I could go as far as saying my dry bones were awakened like in Ezekiel 37. All of a sudden things such as the Sermon on the Mount, the Sheep and the Goats, Jesus heart for the marginalised and his address in Luke 4 made a lot more sense. In fact, my understanding of the entire Biblical narrative made a lot more sense. I am a part of the Body of Christ, here to do Jesus work. To bring healing and restoration in the world; be build God's Kingdom.

I just watched Michael Moore's new film "Capitalism: A Love Story" and although I usually enjoy Moore's films for a satirical view on politics parts of this really stirred me, especially one part in particular when he was talking with a few different Priests about the idea of a world run on a system based around profit. The Priests share their views on how they believe capitalism breeds inequality, makes the rich richer and the poor poorer but also how it is the reason for a lot of the worlds poverty. One of them says they believe it is "evil". Moore responds by asking "What would Jesus do if he was here today then?" and the Priest swiftly and sincerely replies "He simply wouldn't take part in it." And although I am not going to get into capitalism here I want to raise the point that maybe that, what the Priest responded with, is a much higher and God-ordained view on "Being in the world but not of the world."

These are just some rambled thoughts - and I think I will expand later - but for now, think about it, mull over it and let me know what your thoughts are.


Luke 4:

¹⁸"The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
¹⁹to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."