Not of This WorldChikamu

Day 5: Called to Live Counter-culturally

With animated hits like 'My Neighbour Totoro' and 'Spirited Away' under its belt, Studio Ghibli has become a widely beloved household name. Its success is by no means an accident, but largely due to the counter-cultural convictions of its founder Hayao Miyazaki.

From his insistence to conscientiously hand draw every scene to his thematic exploration of pacifism, environmentalism and presence of strong female characters, Ghibli films look and feel different from its anime peers, many of which rely frequently on computer-generated visuals and on sex and violence as a form of appeal.

As believers we may find an affinity with Miyazaki’s counter-cultural stance. In a similar way, Peter calls for us to be set apart from our present worldly society, to live such godly lives that it becomes a testimony to pre-believers (verse 12). Having been set free from the shackles of our sinful desires, we are empowered to choose to do what is holy and pleasing to God, as opposed to what everyone else is advocating and doing. It means, for example, making the seemingly ‘foolish’ decision to honour an unreasonable boss, instead of badmouthing him with our other colleagues.

Indeed, doing the right thing is often walking the harder and more inconvenient path. Our Christian freedom is about having the choice to live submissively as a servant of God, to obey His commandments and glorify Him in stark contrast to a world where everyone else lives only for themselves. The temptation of flowing with popularity has become even more pronounced in this digital era, and will continue to worsen, as social media channels and influencers saturate our minds with consensus-driven ‘woke’ perspectives. In this new status quo, personalities who are deemed offensive are effectively ‘cancelled’ by netizens.

It is in such moments that we must exercise our discernment, to understand what are God-pleasing ways to tackle issues. As we seek the Holy Spirit, He guides us to embody Christ’s teachings and sacrificial love, including to respect authorities that God has set in place while also remaining steadfast in our beliefs. This may, at times, cause us to look ‘weak’ or ‘silly’, but we must remember that there is a cost to follow and remain in Christ. This is what it means to exercise our counter-cultural convictions, which will ultimately paint a beautiful testimony of the Christian faith and point others to His gospel.

Prayer points:

• Do you struggle with doing what is right and good when it makes you look ‘foolish’ or when it is unpopular? Ask God to help you to please Him through your decisions, above pleasing man. Pray for God to draw people to Him through your life testimony.
• As you reflect on the counter-cultural convictions and ways of living as urged by Peter, pray for the Holy Spirit to empower you to walk the challenging path of godliness.

Listen:

The Solid Rock (My Hope Is Built) – Reawaken Hymns