Leave Jesus Out of Pop Culture, Please

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the fact that Jesus never started a religion. He was born a Jew, raised a Jew, lived as a Jew, and remained a Jew throughout his life. He never told anyone to stop being Jews, or any other religion for that matter. He didn't say “you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my religion.”

He also never discussed music, whether it was good or bad, or what kinds should be considered sinful. He never told anyone not to dance. He never told anyone what not to wear. And he never told anyone not to drink alcohol. In fact, as we all know, he transformed water into wine. He apparently thought this was a more appropriate beverage for a good party.

Jesus sure seemed more concerned with religious hypocrisy than legislating morality. He was concerned with people’s hearts, not their exteriors. And he encouraged his followers not to worry so much about such outward things, but rather make sure they were doing well on the inside.

In fact, those who only cared about appearances, he called “white-washed tombs” and likened them to dirty dishes that had been polished on the outside but were full of rotten remains. And who were they, again? Oh yeah. The preachers and religious teachers.

He said they didn’t practice what they preached. He claimed they did everything to draw attention to themselves. That they always wanted the most important seat in the house and loved titles. That they tithed but neglected “the more important matters of the law – justice, mercy and faithfulness.” The similarities to today’s Christian celeb list are almost shocking. And Jesus said they were full of “greed and self-indulgence,” of “hypocrisy and wickedness.”

The church pendulum has swung from open warfare against pop culture to here lately pretty much adopting every aspect of it. Only about a decade after it was “pop.” It seems really interested in packaging the Gospel in a culturally relevant wrap. And somehow, the bigger and flashier the packaging gets, the smaller the contents become. It’s just like the supermarket!

Jesus never tried to be “relevant.” He never tried to look like, act like, or sound like the pop culture of the day. I’d say he was counterculture. Did he influence his culture? Sure. But he never meddled in people’s personal lifestyle preferences, such as taste in music, clothing or beverages. He cared about the well-being of the whole person.

He was into content and left the packaging alone.