”Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things.” Philippians 4:8, NIV
As Christians, we’re used to thinking that the only cultural mandate is found way back in the book of Genesis (1:28), but there’s another one in the New Testament that may be even more directly applicable in our day and age.
In Philippians 4:8, Paul lays down a challenge to every believer. Notice he doesn’t distinguish between the “sacred” (Christian stuff) and the “secular” (non-Christian stuff). No, he simply says that we’re to look around our world, and support — in thought, and, by extension, word and deed — those things that are “excellent or praiseworthy.”
I think if Christians would do this, our world would be far more in the grip of Jesus and his love. Paul knows that if Christians spend their time supporting the best our culture has to offer, including the arts, then our witness to a watching world will be infinitely stronger than if our response to the world around us is largely antagonistic.
How freeing is Paul’s advice! It means if a book, movie, play, game, or whatever is “excellent or praiseworthy,” then we’re commanded (yes, commanded) to lend our support to it. Paul wants us to interact with the culture in a truly meaningful way, “salting” the best parts of it — not create an artificial version of culture where we feel safe from “the world.” God is Lord over culture, and Jesus is there in it. As Madeleine L’Engle has written, “To be truly Christian means to see Christ everywhere, to know him as all in all.”