"Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind..” Romans 12:2
What is the “Cancel Culture” all about? According to Dictionary.com it is “the popular practice of withdrawing (cancelling) support for public figures and companies after they have done or said something considered objectionable or offensive. We have all grown up with the idea of political correctness but Cancel Culture is PC on steroids! Anybody who has said or done something that does NOT conform to the standards that has been decided upon by the PC Culture then that person or organization is publicly rejected, shamed or ridiculed.
Freedom of speech? Forget about it. There is a higher morality or wisdom that must be adhered to! An alternate opinion? This cannot be heard because it has been “determined” to be wrong already. This silences us all or should I say “masks us all?” Too soon? For the past 18 months we have felt this chill come over us like a cold, damp blanket!
Where does this come from? It is rooted in an ideology (especially pushed by the Far Left but mindlessly embraced by those who are just plain “asleep”) propagated in academia, the media and the arts. It is an ingenious way of controlling people “peacefully” without any violence. It is like the good old fashioned peer pressure we experienced in our school days. The weapon is fear…fear of rejection by the others. You must remain silent when good becomes evil and evil becomes good or feel the wrath. You are not to trust your own commonsense instincts or developed religious values on these matters. You must conform to what your Giant Peer Group has determined to be “Truth.”
So, is there an antidote (ie medicine to counteract a particular poison) for this pandemic that is assaulting not the body but the soul? It really is pretty simple. We must join another group. We must reject the “Cancel Culture” and embrace the “Cancel-ed Culture!” “God made you alive with Christ, for He forgave all our sins. He CANCELED the record of charges against us and took it away nailing it to the cross. In this way He disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by His victory over them on the cross.” (Colossians 2:14-15 emphasis added)
The Cancel Culture offers us only rejection, slavery and judgment. But the Cancelled Culture provides us, through our union with Christ, acceptance, freedom and forgiveness. This happens not by being “woke” enough but by being spiritually “awakened,” made alive through Jesus Christ! What will be the results of changing group membership? It will look a little different for each of us but it will be characterized by a certain courage and boldness to speak when appropriate. The fear of people’s opinion and their rejection will no longer control us but will be replaced by a reverence for God and desire to please Him and Him alone.
With the Cancel-ed Culture it is not about a certain viewpoint being canceled but rather the canceling of the “record of the charges against us” on the cross. The gratitude is towards God for restoring our relationship to Him. He planned this to happen through His Son from eternity past. He causes us to mature as people who are God-centered, God-pleasing and who trust in His protection. Consequently, we no longer are characterized as self-centered, self-pleasing and self-protecting.
Father, thank you for making me accepted through Christ, for the freedom and forgiveness you have made possible through what He did on the cross for me!
Written by Jamie Bohnett. Contact the Author: jamiebohnett@gmail.com