CHRISTIANS AND SOCIAL LIFE

I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. – John 17:9 -17 (KJV)

For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries: wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you. - I Peter 4:2-4.

“For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself….”– Romans 14:7

 “If you say you believe like you should, why do you behave like you shouldn’t?” – Charles R. Swindoll (James: Practical and Authentic Living).

INTRODUCTION

On a daily basis we are invited to attend one social event or the other. Some of these come from our friends, neighbours, fellow Christians, colleagues at work, etcetera. These are times when a person invites others to celebrate with him/her or share moments of sadness, etcetera. One fact remains that Christians are allowed to socialize. Invitations extended to us can be honoured or rejected. 1Corinthians 10:27 says:

“If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience.” (NIV)

From creation till now, social activities and attendant ceremonies have remained high points of individuals’ social experiences, they nonetheless have spiritual implications. This is because one’s social life could make or mar.

Christians are in the world, but are not of the world. Though, each Christian is a physical and social being, he/she is not guided by the physical, but by the spiritual.

Life is a nexus, a nexus between physical, social and spiritual. Striking a balance between the three is a Christian’s higher calling, aware that a mishandling of one can lead to disruptions in others.   

WHO IS A CHRISTIAN?

A Christian is a believer and disciple of Jesus Christ; one who has heard the Gospel, believed in Jesus, repented of his/her sins, confessed faith in Jesus and baptized into Christ and then added to the Body of the saved (Acts 2:47).

A Christian is one who is in a covenant relationship with God in Christ (II Corinthians 5:19). A Christian is one who is not ashamed of the Gospel (Romans 1:16) neither is he/she a shame to the Gospel (II Corinthians 6:3).  

Even though a Christian is in the world, yet, he does not belong to the world (John 17:14-16). In other words, he does not think and live like the world (Romans 12:1-2).

WHAT IS SOCIAL LIFE?

Social refers to that which relates to society. Social life is subsumed within a given society (community). Social life is one that defines the daily interactions of everyone who reside in a particular society. 

There are high points in individuals’ lives – birth and birthdays; graduations, coronations and investitures; marriages and their celebrations, awards and recognitions; deaths and burials.

Social life encompasses marriage and burials; community services and other social events in which members of a society (including Christians) are expected to play specific roles.      

Social life implies that we go to market to buy or sell; school, to teach or learn; hospital, to attend to people or be attended to; place of work, to earn or oversee those who work for us, etcetera. Everywhere we go, we come into contact with people of differing faiths, political leanings, social orientations, economic standing, etcetera.

CHRISTIANS AND SOCIAL LIFE

A Christian is first a member of his society before he became a Christian. As far as life on this plane of existence is concerned, a Christian cannot totally extricate himself from society. To do this would require that he goes home to be with the Lord. Writing to Corinthian Christians at I Corinthians 5:9-10, Apostle Paul made this point Clear:   

 I wrote unto you in an epistle not to associate with fornicators: Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world.

Christians’ involvements in social activities include belonging to clubs, town meetings and professional associations; taking part in civic activities of one’s compound or neighbourhood. These may require sharing in other people’s joys and sad moments. Romans 12:15 says, “Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.”  

Social life encompasses activities that take place in public or community; the actions that a human being carries out in contact with other people. Social life are the activities you perform with others for pleasure, when you are not working. 

During His earthly ministry, Jesus socialized with others. He attended weddings (John 2:1-11) and burials (Luke 7:11-16). He also accepted invitations of people who were considered “high profile” sinners of His days. At Matthew 9:10-12 we read:

While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.

 Each time Jesus socialized, He used such as an avenue for evangelization.

Christians are not called to live isolated lives. They are not called to live in monasteries or convents where they would have minimal contacts with people. Those who do, think they are living holy lives, but are mistaken because true holiness is not when you are not in contact with sinners, but when you encounter sinners, yet remain untainted by them (Jude verse 23).

Christians are part of their communities/societies, but do not allow ungodly principles within their environments to define how they live or carry out our daily activities.   

If a Christian is invited to any social activity and he/she feels led by the Spirit of God to go he/she should go, but should be careful (I Corinthians 10:27).

CHRISTIANS AND THEIR SOCIETIES

Christians are called to be salts of the earth and lights of their worlds (Matthew 5:14, 16). God has called and planted us in our various small corners not to conform to our respective environments, but to transform them (Romans 12:2). Therefore, it would be a spiritual tragedy for a Christian to allow himself/herself to be conformed to the spirit and ways of the world around him/her.  

Christians socialize with others because for us to become spiritual helpers of men, we must first prove ourselves to be their friends. We cannot effectively evangelize the world if we keep long distance from them. It is not the world who should come, but Christians who should go (Matthew 28:18-20). However, there is a caveat – we must remain unspotted by the world (James 1:27; Galatians 6:1). Someone wrote:

The social life of a Christian, so far as his contact with the world is concerned should be kept to a minimum. This is not because he has no interest in his worldly friends, but because he finds greater joys in his associations with his brethren in Christ, those with whom he enjoys like precious faith. However, to whatever degrees Christians may find it necessary to associate with their neighbours, they should always maintain the true dignity of the Christian life so that all who come in contact with them will realize that their lives are being governed by higher principles than are those of the world. The real social life of the Christian is enjoyed within the community of his brethren in Christ, and here, as in all the phases of his life, his first consideration is not to be that of pleasing others, but doing the will of God.

CHALLENGES OF CHRISTIANS AND SOCIALIZATION

In communities where Christian populations are few, Christians are faced with peculiar challenges. This has led to Christians joining meetings organized by unbelievers so that when they die, they will be buried by a large number of persons. It has also led to Christians marrying unbelievers because of scarcity of marriageable persons.

Whatever challenges we face as Christians in our respective communities, we should realize that communal lifestyles, most times run counter to Christian culture. At I Peter 4:2-4 God enjoin us:

For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries: wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you.

    

In our quests to socialize with others, we should not follow the multitude to do what are not right (cf. Matthew 7:13-14; Exodus 23:2).

PRINCIPLES TO GUIDE A CHRISTIAN’S SOCIAL LIFE

There are principles to guide Christians in their social lives. First, wisdom should guide Christians socially. At Luke 7:33-35 we read:

For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by all her children.”

The world in which we live is filled with sharks. It takes wisdom to overcome them. At Matthew 10:16, Jesus counseled:

“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.”

         

          In view of these, the following principles should serve as our guide:

1.     Protect your image as well as that of other Christians

Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak. For if someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol’s temple, won’t that person be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols? So this weak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.- I Corinthians 8:8-13. 

       2.     Avoid any form of entanglements

      No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries        to please his commanding officer. - II Timothy 2:4. 

     3.     Be careful of those you socialize with – If Dinah had not gone out, she 

          would not have been violated by Shechem

Now Dinah, the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land. When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of that area, saw her, he took her and raped her. His heart was drawn to Dinah daughter of Jacob; he loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her. And Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Get me this girl as my wife.” – Genesis 34:1-4.  

   4.    Understand that whether absent or present, your goal should be to please the Lord

We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it - II Corinthians 8:9-10 

   5.     Your social life should be an avenue for evangelization

If my social life does not shed light on Jesus Christ and His Gospel, then my Christianity should be questioned. 

6.  As Christians, our social lives should be transformative, not conformative  

A more modern translation of Romans 12:2 says, “Do not copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do....”

7.     Let your Christian life be reflected in your social life

In his book, Christians and Social Dance: Should We or Should We Not? Evangelist Jacob Achinefu (2019:43) writes,

Know it that there is an aspect of religion in social matters. If not, we should allow each Christian to live his/her social life without restraint. It is his religion that checks his social behaviours. … a Christian is everywhere a Christian and should be spiritual wherever he is found.” 

He then quotes Brother Ben. Ukaegbu (CRV, 2015:17) as saying, “… Anyone who is not a Christian everywhere is not a Christian anywhere.” 

8.     Let your social life be a cause to praise God

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God - Corinthians 10:31-32.   

CONCLUSION

          The wisdom to guide our social interactions without compromising our Faith and morality is one that every Heaven-oriented Christians should seek. Do not let your social life outweigh your spiritual life. Let your spiritual life moderate your social life.