The Sacred and the Secular

In America there is a growing trend to try to separate the sacred and the secular. "You can believe what you want," they say, "but don't do it in my yard." We aren't supposed to bring our religious beliefs into government. We aren't supposed to bring our religious beliefs into discussions or decisions on societal morality. We aren't supposed to bring our religious beliefs into the public square at all. It is a sharp division: the sacred and the secular. "Believe what you want, but if it's religious, do it at church."

Unfortunately, this mistaken belief is being fed by many Christians. There are many who compartmentalize the sacred and the secular. Praying: sacred. Going to work: secular. Reading your Bible: sacred. Driving: secular. Going to church: sacred. Going to the grocery store: secular. And this separation of Church and State in our daily lives leads to all sorts of further problems.

When we're at church, we act differently. We are pious. We tend to be kinder. We are certainly on our best behavior. You won't hear too many off-color jokes among people at church. You can pass a plate full of money in front of us at church and we wouldn't even think of taking money out ... because it's "sacred" somehow. Go find these same people at work and observe them in the secular world. Religious conversation is likely entirely gone. They can be unkind and vindictive to coworkers who get in their way. Their jokes are just as off-color as their non-Christian comrades. And stealing from the company isn't even considered -- it's a given. Why not take home pens, pencils, office supplies? And do they really expect you to work eight hours a day?

The problem is that biblically there is no such dichotomy. There is no "sacred" and "secular" in the life of the Christian. Biblically, when we have a relationship with Christ, it is full time. Husbands are to love their wives "as Christ loved the Church" (Eph. 5:25) and wives are to submit to their husbands "as to the Lord" (Eph. 5:22). There is no "sacred" or "secular" in that. Slaves (employees) are to serve their masters (employers) "as you would Christ" (Eph. 6:5) "rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man" (Eph. 6:7) and masters (employers) are to "do the same" for their employees (Eph. 6:9). Prayer cannot be an "at church and once in the morning, oh, and at meals in the privacy of your home" kind of thing if we are commanded to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. 5:17). Paul says, "Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Cor. 10:31), which makes both what you do at church and your demeanor as you drive to work things that should glory to God -- sacred things.

Biblically, we cannot separate the sacred and the secular. To go to work without our relationship with Christ is like going to work without our brains ... which is likely a closer parallel than we might think. To be a Christian and a politician demands that your choices be informed by your walk with Christ. There ought not be any difference between the kind, well-mannered Christian of integrity that you find at church and the Christian at work ... or the grocery store ... or the roadway. In fact, if God actually works all things after the counsel of His will (Eph. 1:11), even your job is a God-ordained event. It's not just a job; it's a vocation, a ministry, a calling, another place in which to walk in faith and live Christ.

As long as Christians continue to buy into the divide between the sacred and the secular, the world will continue to have a ready-made foothold to exclude Christ from our world. It's just another one of those places for them to point and say, "Look at the Christians; they make the same separation. Why shouldn't we?" Let's not give them that opportunity. Let's not light the light of Christ in us and then hide it under a bushel when we go into the secular world. To God, there is no difference in the final analysis. We ought not make one on our own.