Cultural Context: How relavent is it, really?

From girls who almost always wear homemade dresses and headcoverings to girls who don't look different from the average teenage atheist, Christian girls come in all varieties. We all claim to follow the same God through reading the same Bible. Nevertheless, our applications of God's principles differ widely.

My question for the past few years has been "To what extent should I make a 'break' with popular culture to follow God?" The answer is not altogether clear...at first glance. Let's take a walk through some of the Bible verses dealt with on each side of the argument, so you can get a sense of where each position comes from: (note: "conservative" means a girl who believes in wearing dresses, headcoverings, etc; "liberal" means a girl who believes in blending with the culture)

• Galatians 1:10: "Do you think I am trying to make people accept me? No, God is the One I am trying to please. Am I trying to please people? If I still wanted to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ."
• Conservative view: Modifying your behavior and dress to match the culture is an attempt to please people, which is clearly contrary to the Bible's teaching. This is why we want to stand out.
• Liberal view: Our motivation in dressing like the culture is not to please others but to please God, who calls us to reach out to others.
• 1 Corinthians 10:32-33: "Never do anything that might hurt others—Jews, Greeks, or God's church—just as I, also, try to please everybody in every way. I am not trying to do what is good for me but what is good for most people so they can be saved."
• Conservative view: Dresses, worn for modesty, keep us from hurting boys. Wearing anything less modest may hurt boys by tempting those boys to lust.
• Liberal view: This verse justifies blending in with the culture. Dressing in ways that are unusual or doing things that are unusual could hurt someone's impression of the gospel, making it more difficult for them to be saved. We want to please everybody as far as it avoids sin.
• John 17:13-16: "I pray these things while I am still in the world so that these followers can have all of my joy in them. I have given them your teaching. And the world has hated them, because they don't belong to the world, just as I don't belong to the world. I am not asking you to take them out of the world but to keep them safe from the Evil One. They don't belong to the world, just as I don't belong to the world."
• Conservative view: We don't belong to the world. It's only natural that we don't fit in.
• Liberal view: First off, just claiming that we're Christians makes it harder to "fit in." Second, even though we're not of this world, we're in it. Jesus didn't dress differently, and neither should we.

And the list goes on. 

It's a hard issue, but it's not impossible.

Let's look at the behavior of people in the Bible. We'll take two examples, both from influential "John"s who knew Jesus: John the Baptist and John the disciple. 

John the Baptist is the only New Testament character I can think of who is similar to the "conservative" movement. John the Baptist dressed much differently than the culture, ate much different foods than the culture, acted much differently than the culture. Yes, played a pivotal role in history by paving the way for Jesus. He was the last prophet--but also the last "Old Testament" Bible character, if you will. No, he isn't technically an Old Testament prophet, but most of his ministry was before Jesus' ministry, and he died before Jesus died.

John the disciple (with all of the other disciples) resembles the modern movement: he dressed the same as the culture, ate similar foods as the culture, and acted similar to the culture. He also played a pivotal role in history: he wrote books of the Bible and led many to Jesus. He was one of the first modern Christians.

John the disciple followed Jesus in modern times. Shouldn't we do the same?

That doesn't mean we obsess over what the culture is doing. Not at all! Being like our culture should come naturally, actually. (In doubt? Just Google "American culture" and take a look at the long list of things you thought were "normal." You already behave according to many cultural standards!) What is unnatural is finding ways that are not only counter-cultural but just plain unheard-of to follow God. It's possible to follow God within the culture.

And guess what? A good side effect of this is that this has the potential to change culture for the better. In my town, a little while back, our newspaper had a front page article about girls becoming more modest with their clothing choices--choosing outfits that would cover more than they show. That's a side effect of Christians growing in godliness while reaching out to the culture. You don't alienate anybody, but at the same time you don't look quite the same. And when people ask you why you are different, you can tell them about God's amazing love and His role in your life.

I was thinking of following up this post with a post on how to apply this lesson, but I decided not to. Know why? Because God doesn't call us to make human rules about what we should or shouldn't do in trivial areas like this. He calls us to follow Him. I'm pretty sure He wouldn't want me saying "everyone should wear skinny jeans" or "no one should wear v-neck t-shirts." In fact, modesty and cultural relevancy differs from culture to culture and from girl to girl. So here's your application: read your Bible. The heart is ultimately far, far, far more important than anything you wear; and if you read your Bible (and God has some clothing guidelines there, too, so don't worry!) your life will naturally reflect His words.

And that's beautiful. :)