Counterculture vs. Subculture Part II

The early church was counterculture. Today, much of the church is a subculture. What is the difference? A counterculture is a group of people whose lifestyle rejects or opposes the dominant values and behavioral patterns of society. A completely different set of guidelines governs their lives. The early church depicted this. Peter said to the first converts, "Be saved from this perverse generation" (Acts 2:40) The Message heightens the meaning by quoting Peter as saying "Get out while you can; get out of this sick and stupid culture!"

A subculture, on the other hand, is a distinctive group of people that is still part of the overall existing culture. Though some trait about people in the group distinguishes them, they are connected with society overall. The church today fits this description. We have labels of "born again" and "saved". We affiliate with groups or circles: evangelical, Full Gospel, charismatic, denominational, and so on. But we are very much tied in with society.

Our society encompasses people with vastly different lifestyles. On one end are extreme liberals and on the other end, conservatives, with many variations between the two ends. On the extreme end you may find people living exceptionally abnormal lives, performing lewd acts both privately and publicly. They may live perverted lifestyles, etc. We consider them an extreme segment of society that most of the church would never seek to emulate.

On the other end, we find the conservative Americans. These men and women live what many call normal lives. Although this segment of society sees itself as "good", it is linked with the overall culture living under the influence of the prince of the power of the air. Sometimes "good" is the greatest enemy of God. Remember, Eve's choice of what seemed good was very much against God's ways.

Instead of believers living totally separate lives today based on the governing authority of the kingdom of God, many of us live our lives no differently from conservative unbelievers. We say we are not of this world, but for many of us this is a theory instead of reality. Because we are connected, as the boundary lines of society shift, we shift with them.

The Word of God tells us to avoid every form of evil (1Thess 5:22) and says that it is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do so why do we line up or subscribe and pay money to see attitudes, mannerisms and patterns that have been shaped by the perverted generation we live in? I can just hear the Lord asking, "why do My people entertain themselves with the very things that drove the nails through My hands?"

Why do we rely on the ratings of the industry instead of the discernment of the Holy Spirit? Has God changed in the past twenty years to accommodate the trends of this generation? Absolutely NOT! If God's standards have not changed, why have the average American believer's standards changed? This pattern is evident in all areas of life - clothing, views of politics, the way we handle money and business and more. Why do we want to feed off of what the world feeds off of?

The early church was hungry and desired to know their Redeemer more than they desired comfort or pleasure. The enticements of their culture had no power over the majority of them because of their passion for the Lord. The cost of forsaking all was nothing compared to the reward of knowing HIM.

A truly changed heart will produce a Godly lifestyle. Outward mannerisms are useless if they don't reveal what has happened within the heart of a person. We need to arouse a zeal for the presence of God in our lives. We have a responsibility to separate from the world. Let us not allow the desire for the good life to be stronger in us than passion for God. We must remember the promise of His presence awaiting those who separate themselves and draw near.