Secularizing
Your Home?
Colossians 2:8-10
Clearly, we must stay alert against
false ideas, guard against clever notions that are traps, mere human rules, and
worldly systems so they do not take our minds hostage or steal our faith in the
Lord Jesus. Genuine faith remains anchored in Christ, who holds all the
fullness of God and complete authority.
The
supposed “new morality” has led to a serious breakdown in traditional
Judeo-Christian morality affecting the American family. In fact, this moral shift has resulted in a
tremendous increase in sexually transmitted diseases (STD), illegitimate
births, and abortions. No-fault divorces
create millions of single-parent families that have inherent difficulties. Mothers entered the workforce by the millions,
and latchkey kids became a national concern. Homosexual behavior, palimony,
family violence, date rape, pornography, sexual harassment, drug and alcohol
addiction, alternative family lifestyles are some of the additional problems
resulting from the disintegration of traditional morality. The ‘new morality’
has ushered in a age of deterioration throughout society.
The
average person should be concerned about changes in the family because the
family does not exist in a vacuum. It is interrelated with four other basic
institutions of society: religious, economic, governmental, and educational
institutions. Changes in the family will dramatically affect others in our
society.
Many
changes take place in the family when the wife enters the workplace. The two-worker family is the most profound
change in family life in the twentieth century.
This change is driven by materialism and industrialization. The result
is pressure for changes in marital roles, the division of labor in the family,
and child care, and it is creating new perceptions of self in both men and
women. After the Industrial Age, our society
shifted into the Information Age (or Digital Age) in the mid-to-late 20th
century.
This negatively
impacts families by reducing meaningful face-to-face communication, blurring
the boundaries between work and home life, and contributing to behavioral or
sleep issues in children.
Geographical
mobility has also affected the American family.
Immigration from northern and southern Europe not only populated the
industrialized cities of America, but they also brought their own customs,
traditions, values of family life in their homeland and tried to preserve these
as much as possible. The same could be
said for the people groups immigration from Asia and Latin America, thus
shaping the landscape of the ‘American family’ across the country. There has
also been a significant amount of internal migration in America during times
like the Great Depression, and post WWII which accelerated the urbanization of
America. But this also left children
without the knowledge of relatives, lasting friendships with neighbors and
peers. Thus, producing a “generation
without roots;” many young people have very little sense of belonging to a
close knit kin group with whom they can identify.
What is secular humanism? How does it differ from humanitarianism? From the humanities? A good working
definition of secular humanism by quoting Webster, “a system of doctrines and
practices that reject any form of religious faith and worship.” The term secular humanists have been used to
identify those who would remove religious influence from the institutions of
American society. In addition, others
describe humanists thusly, “In their self-definition God does not exist, and
it is a destructive illusion to believe in him.
They promote a way of life that systematically excludes God and all
religion in the traditional sense.”
It is
also interesting to note that humanist masquerade as humanitarians, but their
belief is actually anti-human and they are the number one enemy of the
traditional family. A true humanitarian will promote human welfare and social
reform, but secular humanism inspires destructive relativistic value systems,
divorce, remarriage, serial polygamy, rejection of biblical authority,
situation ethics, hedonism, and extremes forms of women’s liberation,
legalizing abortion, and the elimination of marriage. There are four basic convictions that
distinguish secular humanism from Christian humanism, “confidence in God in
Christ; supernatural worldview; the power of Christ acting through the church;
and incarnational humanitarianism.”
Francis Schaeffer insisted that the conflict is between the
Judeo-Christian view of God with absolute values of right and wrong and a
humanistic system “with only personal, arbitrary, relative values.” The current conflict between Christianity and
humanism is the age-old struggle between God and Satan, right and wrong,
darkness verses light, sin against righteousness.
We may wonder about the impact of television viewing on the American family, and how it contributes to the violence in American culture…. The impact of television on the American family is a net negative. Since television programming is largely influenced by secular humanism, it is a moral descent from filth, smut, and innuendo into serious depravity. It is their aim to destroy the country’s moral fiber and with it the traditional family. They manipulate this communication tool to control the way people think and over exposure to secular input is “dangerous.” Many parents use the television as a babysitting method, but this exposes the children to sex, profanity, and violence. This is one of the leading causes of aggressive behavior in preschool children according to the National Institute of Mental Health. In addition, the violence viewed on television is being carried out in the homes, schools, and streets of the nation. Generally, young people are desensitized to violence; this is presently a cultural reality in America.
There
are several noteworthy advantages of the home computer in changing the way the
American family operate. They can be
used in record keeping, storing recipes, and keeping weekly schedules. They are also used in home-based businesses
and home entertainment in the form of video games. Word processing is a common usage also; an
individual can work at home and transmit his finished product via phone line to
another state or even around the world. This development allows women to be
with their young children as they earn a living while staying home. Computers
are also being used in modern education to prepare young people for their place
in the information age.
There
are some disadvantages to using the home computer we must be aware of. It may permit one to come home from the
office at a decent hour, but only to spend several hours working projects from
work. With regards to entertainment, personal computers can be a source of
anything available on the worldwide web.
This further exacerbate the problems with television viewing: exposure
to sex, violence, pornography, and profanity.
Children can become vulnerable to sexual predators on the internet
posing as young people on youth connection sights. Any tool or technology that can be used for
good could potentially be manipulated for dark purposes also.
Christians
should be concerned about governmental family policies because such social
policies affect the home. These policies
help set the rules of the game—the stakes, the risks, the payoffs, the
tradeoffs, and the strategies for making a living, and raising a family. Laws, regulations, and restrictions will
affect the family from birth to death; therefore, social policy must be of
great interest to the Christian.
Governmental
family policies do affect my family as with other Americans. Proposition 8 in the state of California was
passed to define marriage in a traditional manner; that is as between a man and
a woman. On Election Day, the voters spoke with great clarity and rejected the
notion of same sex marriage in the state. This affects my family because it
signified that Americans generally still regard marriage in a traditional
manner. Even in the very liberal state
of California this is true; the people do not want to redefine marriage in
radical secular progressive terms. These developments basically reinforce what
I have expressed time and again in the context of my family and church. It was encouraging to see the general
populous in California still hold heterosexual marriage as the natural, legal,
and legitimate union and nucleus of the family and society by extension. Historically, we understand that California’s
policies can eventually influence the rest of the nation. In the past this has been more negative than
positive, but this time it’s clearly good.
The
government’s policies regarding Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security have
been greatly beneficial to my family also.
Both my wife’s and my parents are retired and dependent on these
services. There have been instances when we have assisted them financially
because of special needs, but they retain their independence largely because of
these programs. Our financial gifts to
them for the most part are for birthdays and anniversaries; they are acts of
love and generosity and not necessity.
In addition, we have peace of mind that our parents’ medical needs were/are
being adequately addressed.
Is there a contrast between the
secular home and the Christian home?
Which term describes your home? The secular home can be defined as the
one which leaves God out of their lives.
Their values are humanistic and materialistic and there is never a need
for God in any facet of their life. The same can be said for the nominal
Christian family. They may attend church and use some Christian terms, but essentially,
they too exclude God from every other facet of their existence. A Christian home, however, is an entirely
different creature because it gladly welcomes God and the Bible into every
aspect of their lives. They cherish a relationship and warm fellowship with the
Lord and they freely interact with each other in a manner that is pleasing to
God and chose the Bible as the source of their values. A truly Christian family does have
distinguishing features. It is where the
Lord Jesus Christ is loved by all members and is overtly demonstrated to each
other. This bond of love manifests
itself in various ways: harmonious relationships, family worship, regular
church attendance, active witnessing to friends and neighbors, service to the
Lord in the local church and in the community.
Lastly,
we want to honestly say that our homes are Christian homes because we do
embrace Judeo-Christian values and cherish a relationship with God through
faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. We do
have private and family devotions and regularly attend church when the doors
are open. We sustain an active witness
to unsaved family members, colleagues, friends, and strangers. The Bible is not
only respected but followed with good application in many facets of our family
life. While there certainly are numerous
areas where we need to improve, we can recognize good progress over the
years.
God
presents the home as a spiritual foundation centered on Him, contrasting a
faithful household with secular or ungodly residences.
- Psalm 127:1, says that “except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain
that build it,” meaning a home lacking a spiritual foundation with
God fails to endure in a true sense.
- Matthew 7:24-27, contrasts
a wise man who builds his house upon a rock (hearing and doing Christ’s
sayings) with a foolish man who builds his house upon the sand,
representing secular or unstable foundations that collapse under pressure.
- Joshua 24:15, famously declares,
“as for me and my house, we will serve the
Lord,” establishing the intentional choice required by believers to
reject secular alignment in their domestic lives.
- Romans 12:2 instructs us believers
not to be conformed to this world, which extends to maintaining a
household culture distinct from secular ideas.
- Colossians 2:8, reminds
us, “Beware lest any man spoil you through
philosophy and vain deceit, after
the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after
Christ.”
We are
warned to avoid being captured or cheated by false teachings, human traditions,
and worldly ways of thinking that pull us away from the complete sufficiency of
Jesus Christ. Child of God, we must test every cultural trend, worldview,
and spiritual idea against the truth of the gospel. We are warned that in
Christ “dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead
bodily” reminding us that we already have everything we need in Jesus
and do not need worldly ideas. Therefore,
·
Remain Rooted in Christ: we
grow strong by staying close to Jesus anchored in loving obedience to Him every
day.
·
Trust Him for All Fullness:
Christ gives us everything we need to live a complete life for His honor and
glory.
·
Regard Jesus Who Has All Authority: Jesus
Christ holds supreme power and absolute rule over everything—complete
right to rule and absolute jurisdiction over all domains. His
supreme rule extends both to spiritual and physical realms, as affirmed in Matthew
28:18! Beloved, intentionally submit to Jesus!
This
supreme status was formally affirmed and given after Christ’s victory over
death and the grave. God the Father granted such honor because Jesus lived a
sinless life and atoned for our sin.
Beloved,
knowing his power and authority removes doubt and provides God’s constant
presence throughout each day. Beloved, genuine faith remains anchored in
Christ, who holds all the fullness of God and complete authority. It is clearly
alright to trust Him with your home and future!
