Stop Being Shocked by the Worldliness of the World

The rumbles of the Olympic opening ceremony continue as Parisian spokesperson, Anne Deschamps, attempted to throw a little water on the fire by explaining they were trying to celebrate community tolerance. “We believe this ambition was achieved. If people have taken any offence, we are really sorry.”

There is so much wrong with what is depicted in this opening paragraph. For starters, any apology that contains the world “if” is a non-apology. One who has wounded or damaged another, and then says, “I’m sorry if I hurt you,” is both manipulative and lying. They know they hurt you (there is no “if”) and they are anything but sorry. They just want to move on.

The other thing that is askew is the Christian societal response to the opening ceremony. What is off-kilter is the very fact that there is a Christian societal response. It is absurd for the Chrisian community to be shocked by the worldliness of the world.

Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you.
– 1 John 3:13, ESV

The world is the world! So, naturally, they are going to be worldly. We should expect this and stop pretending that it shocks us. And if anyone is shocked by it, he or she is either ignorant of scripture, or is disregarding what scripture says in this regard. We are sternly warned throughout the New Testament that this type of behavior is on the agenda.

And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
– Mark 13:13, ESV

The context of this quote from Mark is the destruction of the city of Jerusalem in August of AD 70, but the principle is sound. The world hates the faith of a Christ-follower because that faith is real and the object of that faith is true. We will continue to be hated for the name of Jesus.

You will note that the world performs no such blasphemous, mocking presentations against other major world religions. Christianity is given this special attention specifically because it is based in reality.

Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.
– John 15:20, ESV

The time to be concerned, shocked, dismayed is when the world does not hate us.

Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers treated the false prophets in the same way.
– Luke 6:26, ESV

Another piece of this believer/world interaction and perception that needs to be thought through is the fact that the world will never understand or embrace the disciple’s ethical and moral worldview. The church can preach moral messages at the world ad nauseam, and the world will look at us with a blank stare. Current-generation media has stealthily infused the populace with a normalized view of every imaginable perversion. The message of conviction we hold makes no more sense to the world than the “Wah, waah, waah, wah, wah!” of Charlie Brown’s elementary school teacher.

The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
– Luke 6:26, BSB

While the world will never embrace the church, the reverse is not at all true. Worldliness is seeping into the church and, in some cases, the infiltration of perversion is a full-blown gusher. The doors are blown open many churches indistinguishable from the world. The apostle Paul addressed this phenomenon when writing to the church at Corinth.

Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual, but as worldly—as infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for solid food. In fact, you are still not ready, for you are still worldly.
– 1 Corinthians 3:1-3a, BSB

The opposition of the world to the tenets of a disciple’s faith comes with a smugness and an arrogance that is an eye-roller to the mature Christ follower, while effectively intimidating to one whose faith is weak, or built on a sandy foundation.

Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is folly with God.
– 1 Corinthians 3:1-18-19a, ESV

Scripture calls for a specific response to worldliness, and that response is not shock and dismay. James explains this in his epistle.

You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
– James 4:4, ESV

James is using exceedingly strong language to pound home the reality that we cannot be chummy with the world and the world system and not be an enemy of God. The two are as incompatible as oil and water. We cannot mix them despite our most valiant efforts to do so. They are opposite ends of a magnet. Choosing friendship with the world system automatically joins us to the class of people who are enemies of God.

We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
– 1 John 5:19, ESV

With this clarity in mind, we are not shocked by the opening ceremonies of the Paris Olympics. Saddened? Disgusted? Yes, but not shocked.

We expect worldliness from the world. And we are grounded in our faith, striving to “attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ” (Ephesians 4:13-15, ESV).