Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
John 17:14-16 I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
John 15:19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.
(All taken from the New American Standard Bible. These all translated fairly consistently from version to version, so I chose the translation that was easiest to read while being accurately translated as far as I could tell.)
I started this entry with a few passages from the Bible since they are relevant to what I’ve been thinking about lately. Having visited Pennsylvania Amish country for less time than I would have liked last week, it’s only natural that I’d be thinking about what it means to live “in the world but not of it.”
First, I think it’s helpful to me to pull apart what these words really mean. I know, this must all be very rudimentary for experienced Christians, but I’m a newb, so bare with me. Without having actually gone into the translations themselves yet since that will take far more work on my part than is possible for this little meditation, I think I can start with just trying to figure out the phrases in the world, of the world, and out of the world.
In the world — This is a fairly easy one. It means that as Christians we shouldn’t isolate ourselves from the outside world, helping and serving only our own, but physically, spiritually, and mindfully present in the world amongst those who do not believe.
Of the world — Prepositions are notoriously difficult to translate because they have different meanings in different languages. This is hard to imagine for those who have never studied a foreign language, but “of” (and its equivalent in other languages) can have many different uses. Even in English, the use of this word has changed a bit over the centuries. I said I wasn’t going to delve into the translations here, so with that note, I’m going go with the usual understanding of the phrase. From what I’ve gleaned from reading a few websites and in casual conversation, I think this is just what it sounds like, being “composed” of the world, or “coming from” the world. “Derived from” might also be a good verb.
Out of the world — And now at this point, I can see much more clearly what it means to be have been chosen “out of the world” but to be not “of the world”. To be in a group of people, a family even, but not be “composed” of the same stuff is entirely possible. I’m not speaking in literal terms here, of course. I share the DNA of my family, and even quite a bit in the way of personality, looks, health, etc. But I think it’s fair to say that this distinction is embodied by my mother’s insistence that I “march to the beat of my own drummer”. My worldview and my approach to the world never really matched my family’s. I can’t really name a single family member that I have much in common with other than being related to them and having some common experiences. I know those are huge things, but just like Christians who are part of a larger whole, sharing DNA and common experiences with those around them, their understanding of and reactions to these things are often testament to their inner composition which is different than the rest of the world. As Christians, when we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we accepted that we would be changed by that. Some of us never experienced actively that transition because we always believed–those are the lucky few who were faithfully raised in the Christian faith and who were faithful in it. Most of us, however, have experienced being “of the world” and have likewise experienced that inner transformation of becoming “not of the world”.
There are many different takes on this concept of being in the world but not of it. Some of us lean more towards being in the world while focusing less on not being of the world, where others prefer to place their efforts on being not of the world and so focusing less on being in the world. I really enjoy Amish theology, because while there are areas where I disagree, the Amish seem to succeed at much of what modern Protestant and Catholic Christians fail at. We make far too little out of forgiveness and humility at times, and put too much emphasis on pointing out the flaws and immorality in the world instead. This so clearly echoes the admonition about the log in the eye, and this is seen readily by all the comments from non-Christians who call Christians hypocrites while simultaneously standing in awe at the Amish way of life. There’s something so humble and sweet about a group of people who demand absolutely nothing from the outside world, and one could say their biggest flaw is only that you can’t convert. In that sense they fail at being in the world where they succeed so thoroughly at not being of the world.
In John, being in the world but not of it is used as a descriptor by Jesus of his disciples. Later on in Romans Paul makes it more explicitly a requirement for us. This is not simply a description of a state of being of Christians at the time that Jesus lived, it is something we are all called to live out in our daily lives. So how do we do this successfully? What combination of being in the world and not of the world works and has the desired results?
I think Christianity as a whole has many different takes on this, so ultimately it’s up to the individual Christian to figure that out. Definitely something that will be on my mind for awhile. What do you all think about being in the world but not of it? How do you approach that calling?
