I came across a question on Reddit this week that read, “Is Christianity cool again?” The text under the heading question read, “I mean, I know that society in general is heading to secularization, but I’ve noticed in the last few years that Christianity is starting to get more traction on the Internet.” One comment under the question read, “It’s a pendulum swinging between tradition and modernity. The “In this moment, I am euphoric,” meme single-handedly killed the New Atheist movement. 10 years ago, being an atheist was the cool trend.”
We as disciples of Jesus are well aware that Christianity is not trendy nor will it ever be trendy. Christianity is counter-cultural, offensive to the flesh, guarantees persecution, and the call to put down self for something greater. Matthew 7:14-15 says, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
This thread reminded me so much of threads I’ve seen in the past about trending diets. When I was in middle school, the Atkins diet was in. Everyone chunked carbs out the window. Then a few years later, the South Beach Diet was in. And then the Nutrisystem diet was a fad where we all went calorie deficient for a hot minute. Now, we have programs that make you take pills to make you not hungry, shots that keep you fuller longer, and apps that we religiously plug food numbers into. Dieting is a fad. It’s got an expiration date. Lifestyle changes are for just that: life. As I thought about comparing these two ideas, I came up with some thoughts I’d like to share with you.
GAIN IT BACK. I’ve tried many diets in my day and it never fails-once the expiration date of that diet hits, I gain all my weight back and then some. Christianity is not like this. The words we study are imprinted on our hearts (Deuteronomy 11:18-19). James put it perfectly. He said treating God’s Word like a trend is like looking into a mirror and immediately forgetting what you look like. (James 1:23)
CHEAT DAYS. With God, there are no cheat days. In the book of Exodus, God continuously reminds His people that they belong to Him and no one else. Our desire to cling to idols such as money, cell phones, food, status, and even people before God keep us from having a Christian lifestyle versus a Christian trend. You can’t serve two masters. (Matthew 6:24)
EXPIRATION. As mentioned earlier, diets have an expiration date. I was on Ozempic for a while to help jump start weight loss since I deal with PCOS. When I got off of it, I hadn’t actually learned any kind of good habit to help me maintain my weight. So, I gained everything back. When Jesus becomes your life, your decisions are based around the foundation of His example. Paul talks about grace in Romans 6:1-2. He says, “What should we say then? Should we keep on sinning so that God’s grace can increase? Not at all!” We aren’t given grace just to keep on living life the way we want. You don’t start a diet just to eat cookies once the trend is over.
TAKING OUT MAJOR FOOD GROUPS. Most of the diets out there encourage you to take out major food groups. This is unrealistic, not to mention unhealthy, for your body. God designed all food groups to be eaten to nourish the body in the right proportion. God also knows that when He called you to His service, He wasn’t calling you to come out of the world. He is calling you to go into all the world (Mark 16:15) for a purpose of the right proportion…to spread the good news! He doesn’t take away the world because you need to serve in it in order for you to have your healthiest apprenticeship with Him.
WEAKNESS. Most diets make you weak. When you come off of them, you immediately feel more energy. Sometimes, it’s an unhealthy “sugar high” temporary energy, but nonetheless, you do feel more energized. Christianity does the opposite, proving to be more of a lifestyle than a trend. This strength we get from Christianity is in our service to God and His people. It’s not anything we do for ourselves, but it’s a strength from above. (Psalm 121:1-2)
CRAVINGS. I normally don’t crave foods until I go without certain ones. Then, it’s like all I crave. Psalm 37:4-5 tells us that with God, He will give us the desires (Matthew 6:33). With diets, we try to rely on our flesh to help us overcome the cravings. But we know that the flesh is so unreliable. Remember Paul’s monologue in Romans 7 about his battle with his cravings.
I often see diet trend commercials around New Years. They push out these membership deals to help our society reach those New Year’s resolutions. The fads trend through January, February, sometimes even March, but then eventually fade away. The cost is enticing so people jump on the bandwagon. The cost of Christianity is much steeper. You have to give up yourself and your own desires, pick up the burden of the cross, and follow in the footsteps of Jesus (Matthew 16:24). No wonder the road is narrow, right? So why do people do it?
People turn diets into lifestyle changes whenever their desire for the end result is greater than the pain of the process. Christianity goes from trend to lifestyle change whenever our desire to be with Jesus is greater than the pain of persecution living in the world now.
Are you living a lifestyle or a trend? Your foundation for the life you’re living will determine your end result. Matthew 7:24-27 says the storms came on both the wise man and the foolish man, but the foolish man’s house stood firm based on foundation choice. Living a total lifestyle in God may be the minority, but as Joshua so eloquently stated, “But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15)
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