The way you demonstrate your faith to those around you influences culture. Start by serving someone with a disability today, and do God’s will on earth.
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada with some thoughts about changing culture.
And, oh, it needs changing. You see, culture is an expression of the things we deem most important in society. You know, all of it’s reflected in our books, our schools, and laws, and movies, and art, and the like. What society treasures at its core, that will influence culture. And if you look around at the latest billboards, or listen to the latest music, or what’s happening in our schools, or the way people dress, or how they speak, well, that’s our culture. So, what’s our role as Christians in all of this? Well, our role is to be salt and light; we are to influence culture on a grassroots level through the way we live out our faith before our neighbors, and co-workers, and anyone else in our community. And, hey, as a Christian advocate for the elderly and the disabled, it’s what I do – it’s what you do every day, whether you realize it or not. We influence culture with our words and our attitudes and actions toward others.
You see, culture is like a gigantic slab of molasses slowly lumbering along. And the everyday decisions we make, the conversations we have, the way we demonstrate our faith in Christ to onlookers, well, it’s like we’re being little channels, little arrows that direct that big slab of molasses either this way or that, for good or for evil. Yes, it’s an interminably slow process, but it is what “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven,” really means. When we do God’s will on earth, we influence culture.
And here’s the thing. I believe that churches who serve among those with disabilities can have a huge impact on shaping our culture. I mean, I remember reading something John Stonestreet and Maria Baer said. They wrote, “Cultural transformation follows a change in the public imagination – and that change usually happens in… quiet ways. In fact, cultural change requires at least three ingredients. First, there must be new ideas. Second, there must be champions committed to spreading these ideas. [And third, there must be new norms].”
Well, I believe that local churches can change the public imagination through the way we serve families in a community who struggle with disability. The local church can be a champion committed to spreading new ideas, new ways of looking at brokenness, new attitudes toward the marginalized, new ways of supporting and serving people in the community who are burdened by suffering. I mean, onlookers will see our actions and will find them noteworthy. They’ll find them altruistic; people will see that such service really is good for their community. And slowly, over time, new norms can be created. And I’ll even take it a step further. Without using a single word, people who are disabled can help shape what counts as normal behavior, and what it means to be human.
It’s a big dream on this Disability Awareness Month, ’cause our culture needs a true vision of the human person, and there’s no one better equipped to communicate that than a person with a disability who boasts in his weakness, delights in his infirmity, and glories in his limitations. Our society is starved for that kind of authenticity, so, on this Disability Awareness Month, get your church on board. Joni and Friends has training and resources to help you make a difference among the disabled in your community and your culture. Find out how at joniradio.org. Again, that’s joniradio.org.
© Joni and Friends