Seduced by Cool

From Tullian Tchividjian, from a working draft of his next book entitled Unfashionable:

Christianity, according to Jesus, is not cool.

There, I said it.

I’ll even go a step further: If what’s fashionable in our society interests you, then true Christianity won’t. It’s that simple.

Think about it. Jesus said some pretty unfashionable stuff. If you want to live, you must die. If you want to find your life, lose it. He talked about self-sacrifice and crosses and suffering and death. He talked about the need to lay down our lives for those who hate us and hurt us. He talked about serving, not being served; seeking last place, not first. He talked of gouging out your eye and cutting off your hand if they cause you to sin.

He was making the profound point that daily Christian living means daily Christian dying — dying to our fascination with the values of this world and living for something infinitely larger than whatever happens to be in vogue at the moment. Jesus calls his people to live for what is timeless, not trendy. Christians are called to take up the cross and follow Jesus, not social norms; to live above the fray of fashionability, refusing to get caught up in the most recent cultural craze. All of which is flat-out uncool in a world that idolizes whatever’s in style.

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