You Can't Dig Up Culture

Culture Queens

Probably one of the most difficult concepts to explain to 5th- and 6th-graders is culture. When I'm talking to the tweens at the Pure In Heart Conference, one of the things I am trying to get them to understand is that their image of what they consider to be beautiful has been greatly influenced by the culture in which we live.

In our first breakout session this Saturday, I'll be focusing on three specific lies that girls believe. (Btw, if you've ever read Lies Women Believe: And the Truth that Sets Them Free by Nancy Leigh DeMoss or Lies Young Women Believe: And the Truth that Sets Them Free by Nancy Leigh DeMoss and Dannah Gresh, then you will recognize these lies! Great books, too!)

1. Beautiful girls are worth more.
2. The culture tells me who I'm supposed to be.
3. If my friends like the way I look, then they will like me.

(Yes, obviously, not much has changed in the way of lies since I was a tween! LOL! My friends and I bought it all back then, too.)

Adults frequently toss around the word "culture." Tweens hear us talking about it on the radio, at church, and in all kinds of media. But what is it?

Archaeologists dig up remnants of cultures. They excavate ruins and paw through piles of broken pottery, bones, and other artifacts that tell a story of the culture from one perspective--they reflect it. We can study language, literature, customs, art, and governments of the past, but once again, while these may reflect the culture, they are not culture in and of themselves. The culture is:

What it's like to live here, right now, with these people, in these circumstances.

It can't be dug up.

The culture is something that we carry around with us. It is a part of who we are, and it surrounds us. It can tell us how to think...if we let it.

But whereas the culture tells girls today that they should look and act like a celebrity pop star, God's Word says something very different: Man looks on the outside, but God looks on the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). God's culture, His way of thinking (about ourselves and others) is what we need to carry around with us. His Word, when taken daily, will penetrate our hearts and become a part of us. If we choose to, we can surround ourselves with His Word: memorizing it, reading it, studying it, and thinking about it.

*For a better understanding of the culture we confront, go HERE.

Do you know a 6th - 9th grade girl who would like to study God's Word? Check out my Bible study, Wise Up! Experience the Power of Proverbs.



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