'Cultural Creep' In Our Homes

At times, our deepest longings alert us to the fact: We are captives in a strange land. Living in exile – not yet in the Kingdom we know to be our native home.

When we wake to this fact our eyes are also opened to this: If we have let down our guard and settled into a life of captivity – then this is also what we are guiding our family to think of as “home”.

As the leader of the tribe goes – so goes the tribe.

How did it happen? How did we lose sight of the better life?

It happened slowly.

We can hardly be blamed. The sacred ground we might have lost didn’t feel like a fight – it was so gradual. A slow creep of invading culture. Foreign culture. Different priorities.

But not only did it happen slowly – it seemed so “normal” to everyone around us, it raised no alarms.

Cultural creep is insidious that way. It steals our time. It steals our hearts. It steals a proper regard for ourselves and for our families – overwriting our deepest dreams and desires.

We need God to regularly guide us in seeing our blind spots. To challenge what threatens our journey into His Kingdom. To take back the sacred ground.

We recommend you go to God from time to time for a deep inventory of your life – with nothing held back; opening up your life for Him to examine alongside you. Not as a God of judgement and condemnation, but as your loving Father who wants to bring you into the Kingdom that is your inheritance.

Let Him point out those places inhibiting a more full life.
(John 10:10)

When you go to Him, ask what good He wants for your family.
(Wait quietly – expecting His loving reply.)

Then, ask Him what is getting in the way of the good He intends.
(Again, wait for a reply. Take the most obvious things He shows you and set them to the side, asking: what else? It is likely He will be gracious with what you thought were big obstacles – showing more concern for things like your schedule, and where your attention is spent.)

The life you’ve lived has already let you experience of the excesses of the culture you live in. You've already seen those excesses won't lead to the 'good life'. But, be aware – if you choose differently than the culture around you people will wonder about you, be confrontational, and even make trouble for you. Always remember: they will reap the results for the life they have chosen to live. And any suffering you experience from abandoning those 'cultural norms’ will be paid back exponentially in blessing.
– 1 Peter 4:1-11 (paraphrased)