I’m one of those type of people who loves to listen to things while I work. Podcasts, music, even a familiar TV show are all comforting background noise. But the thing about background noise is that it is only effective if it doesn’t distract from the work being done. It works when it is firmly “in the background” as something that can be safely ignored without really missing anything.
Unfortunately for increasing millions of people in the wider culture, Christianity has become just that, background that can be easily ignored. Another term that is frequently used for Christianity is irrelevant. Irrelevance happens when your interests and someone else’s don’t overlap. For many Christianity feels like a long list of rules that matter to someone else. Some may try to “hang in there” out of a sense of duty or obligation. They might make a sincere effort to participate in church, maybe because it is important to people they care about. But Christianity just doesn’t stick.
The book Good Faith by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons records that “Three out of four US adults have some Christian background, but about three in five American Christians are mostly inactive in their faith.” For far too many, church is boring and Christianity has faded into the background.
“Our culture’s underlying moral and ethical standard has become ‘do what you want as long as you don’t hurt anybody.’ By that standard, ‘proclaim Jesus as Lord and live under his rule and reign’ is … well, irrelevant.” Which is why we need to hear God’s word from Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Far from what the world values, we find God’s word good, and acceptable and perfect!
If you are interacting with people who feel that Christianity is nothing but irrelevant, background noise, try to encourage them to see how meaningful your faith is to you, and what it could mean for them.
God’s Blessings,
Pastor Nyck