In a podcast many years ago, historian Tom Woods made an interesting observation. He said something like this: “We often talk about how Christianity has shaped America, but we should also consider how America has shaped Christianity.”
That idea has stuck with me. It raises a challenging question: Could it be that we often fail to hear Jesus clearly because we filter His words through the lens of our own culture?
We are all shaped by the time and place we live in. Culture shapes what feels natural, what seems right, and what we consider normal. This is not always bad—culture gives us traditions, community, and stability. But culture can also blind us. It can lead us to accept certain practices and attitudes without ever questioning if they truly align with God’s will.
A Biblical Example of Cultural Compromise
Genesis 16 gives us a powerful example of this reality. In that passage, Sarah convinces Abraham to father a child by using her servant Hagar. In their culture, this was a perfectly acceptable practice to secure an heir. It was a solution that fit the customs of their world.
While it was an acceptable practice, it was not the way of faith. God had promised Abraham and Sarah a child, but instead of waiting for God to fulfill His word, they settled for a culturally approved shortcut.
From our perspective in 21st century United States, it is easy to look back and see their error. But in their moment, Abraham and Sarah were doing something that made sense to them. They weren’t trying to rebel against God; they were trying to solve a problem within the framework their culture gave them.
How often do we do the same?
The Subtle Power of Culture
The danger of cultural compromise is that it rarely feels like compromise. It feels natural. It feels responsible. It feels like common sense. That’s why it is so easy for us to use cultural assumptions in our interpretations of biblical truth.
For Christians living in the United States, this challenge is especially subtle. American values—like individualism, consumerism, and the pursuit of success—are so deeply ingrained in us that we may not realize when they conflict with the way of Jesus.
For example:
- Do we measure a church’s faithfulness by its size and influence (an American metric), or by its obedience to Jesus’ commands (a kingdom metric)?
- Do we prioritize personal freedom over self-giving love, even though Jesus taught that true freedom is found in serving others?
- Do we accept violence, power, and dominance as necessary evils, forgetting that Jesus called us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us?
None of these cultural values are neutral. They shape the way we hear Scripture, the way we structure our churches, and the way we live our faith.
Following Jesus, Not an Americanized Christianity
The task before us, then, is to make sure we are truly following Jesus—not just an Americanized version of Christianity that baptizes our cultural assumptions with our cherry picked Bible passages. That requires humility. It requires discernment. And it requires a willingness to question the things we have been taught as “biblical” but may not actually come from Scripture.
Abraham and Sarah remind us how easy it is to be led by what feels normal instead of what God has promised. The same danger confronts us today. Will we trust Jesus enough to follow His way, even when it goes against the flow of our culture?
A Call to Self-Examination
Perhaps one of the most important spiritual disciplines we can practice is self-examination in light of Scripture. We need to ask:
- Am I believing this because it is biblical, or because it is cultural?
- Does my discipleship reflect the values of the kingdom of God or the values of America?
- Where might I be settling for what feels natural rather than waiting on the promises of God?
These are not easy questions. But they are necessary if we want to live faithfully as disciples of King Jesus.
The good news is that God is patient with us, just as He was patient with Abraham and Sarah. He invites us to step out of cultural conformity and into the radical life of faith, trusting that His way is better than anything our world has to offer.
Reflection
Take a moment to sit with this question: How has my faith been shaped more by culture than by Christ?
Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal blind spots where cultural assumptions have crowded out biblical truth. Then pray for the courage to follow Jesus even when it feels strange, unpopular, or countercultural.
“Lord Jesus, help me to see where I have settled for a comfortable, cultural version of faith instead of the radical way of Your kingdom. Give me eyes to see clearly, ears to hear Your voice, and a heart willing to obey—even when it goes against what feels normal. Teach me to live as Your disciple first and foremost. Amen.”
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