Seeing Truth Past the Camouflage of Culture
Sorry- No, you can’t have it your way! By Pastor Ryan Galan
Some recent conversations with both Christians and non-Christians have reminded me of the dangerous effects of relativism mixed with the prideful human heart. Relativism is a philosophy that says knowledge, truth, and morality exist only in relation to society and culture. There are no absolutes or objective basis from which to determine them. You take this philosophy mixed with a heart that is “…deceitful above all things, and desperately sick..” (Jeremiah 17:9) and you have a recipe for disaster.
It seems like the two were made for each other. The human heart wants to be judge, decide what’s right and wrong, and determine what’s true and what’s not. Relativism is exactly the type of philosophy that allows that.
The Christian
For the Christian, it wrongly means they get to pick and choose those verses and parts of the bible. Some they like, and some they don’t. This was obvious to me in a conversation with someone recently. They attempted to justify their disobedience by making the statement “I think we all need to figure out what’s right for us”. This is not a statement that can be backed up from a Christian worldview and understanding of scripture.
To be in Christ means, it’s His way. He doesn’t give us the option to pick and choose (see John 8:24, 10:9, 14:6, Acts 4:12, 1 Tim. 2:5). God is the objective standard by which we understand everything else. When we disagree with God, we are the ones that need to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. For the Christian, sorry, but no- we can’t have it our way!
The Non-Christian
For the non-Christian, it often means picking and choosing from every worldview that’s ever existed! What I found most telling in a recent conversation with a dear friend was her inability to ground any of her beliefs. At times she would say “isn’t that in the bible”, and in the next sentence say, “how can you even trust that book”. When it came down to it, she was happy to be the judge of everything that was right for her. When asked, “how do you know what you’re saying is true?”, she responded, “because I know it in my heart”.
She had created her own “god” that agrees with everything she says, and loves her just the way she is. Even in her denial of the one true God, she recognized there were still certain things that she clung to as objectively true, but had no basis for. Therefore, even for the non-Christian, sorry but you to, can’t have it your way!
Conclusion
Although popular, relativism is foolishness and can never truly be supported. If you are a Christian, you must recognize that Jesus is Lord of your life, and you are to do as He says. If you’re not a Christian, please, I beg you, surrender and make Jesus Lord of your life because everything else is foolishness.
No one has it their way, and peace is only found in His way!
