When you think about the creation account, what comes to mind? Is it the creation of land and sea? The creation of sun and moon? Perhaps the creation of sea creatures, birds and animals, or humans?
It makes sense that any of these things might come to mind, but there’s another thing that God created during that time that most of us don’t associate with the creation account: work.
In Genesis 1:26–28, when God assigns humans to “have dominion” over all living things on earth, this is a job description — and a very important one, key to the story of the Bible.
Unpacking Our Human Job Description
As Mike Metzger notes, “have dominion” is translated kultur in German — or “culture” in English. That makes our human job description, and a large part of the mission of the Church, the creation of culture. This is sometimes referred to as the cultural mandate, or the creation mandate.
So what is culture? Metzger puts it this way:
“Culture is the governing ideas, images, institutions, and items that shape a society’s understanding of reality. . . Culture is ideas, it is worldviews and assumptions . . . It is images, such as film and art and music and advertising and the stories we tell about worldviews and assumptions.”
In short, culture is a “way of life” for groups of people, from everything from language, to social customs, art forms, traditions and celebrations, laws, institutions and societal values.
Creating Culture for the Common Good of All
Work and culture aren’t necessarily things we automatically think about when we consider the core aspects of Christianity.
We understand saving grace — the grace of God through Jesus that saves us from our sins — but most Christians are less familiar with the idea of common grace.
Common grace is available to all of creation, defined by Wayne Grudem as “the grace of God by which he gives people innumerable blessings that are not part of salvation.” By appointing humans to steward creation, God called us into a partnership as caretakers of all areas of society, working for the common good of others, living righteously and building good relationships.
Charles Colson and Nancy Pearcey summarize the cultural mandate like this:
“God cares not only about redeeming souls but also about restoring his creation. He calls us to be agents not only of his saving grace but also of his common grace. Our job is not only to build up the church but also to build a society to the glory of God. As agents of God’s common grace, we are called to help sustain and renew his creation, to uphold the created institutions of family and society, to pursue science and scholarship, to create works of art and beauty, and to heal and help those suffering from the results of the Fall.”
The Church’s Loss of Cultural Influence
For centuries, the Church was a center of culture, inviting people to live in alignment with a worldview that answered humanity’s most difficult questions around origin, purpose, and future. Gabe Lyons unpacks how this changed and the Church lost cultural influence with the Enlightenment and Second Awakening:
“The Enlightenment initiated a philosophical shift that would change everything. The basis for human existence shifted away from God and toward humanity. Human reason, scientific research, and individual achievement had no need for divine intervention. . . This philosophy of human-driven cultural advancement characterized the modern view that would influence Christian thinking.”
Lyons goes on to suggest that the Enlightenment’s emphasis on the speed of advancement may have impacted North American Christianity throughout the Great and Second Awakening. Due to the remote nature of communities on the frontier, spiritual influencers did not have the opportunity to live among communities and model the life of a Christian; instead, they used emotional preaching styles that focused on the Fall and Redemption portions (“You are a sinner, but you can be saved and have eternal life”).
The problem with this is that the key bookends of the story were left out: Creation and Restoration. Christianity became a movement to secure converts quickly — a decision to secure salvation rather than an influential worldview. As Lyon notes,
“If being a Christfollower is only about getting a free pass to heaven and trying to bring everyone else with them, it will alienate Christians from the broader dialogue about life, justice, and the here and now.”
Life, justice, and the here and now are the backbone of culture. If we are cut off from culture, we’re cut off from the human job God assigned us.
So How Do We Become Culture Creators Today?
Cultures can change when leaders come together from different spheres of society to work toward the common good of their city.
These spheres of society span education, arts & entertainment, business, technology, the list goes on. Imagine how it would look if righteous Christian leaders came together from their institutions, producing art, books, film, restaurants, laws, technology, social outreaches and innovations for the restoration of your city.
While the Church has lost cultural influence since the Enlightenment, it is not at all obsolete. No other institutions gather individuals from such different spheres of life. A rediscovery of the cultural mandate can reinstate the bookends of Creation and Restoration to their place in Christianity, where they belong, and the Church has the opportunity to equip leaders to work toward the common good of all in whichever sphere they have influence.
What is Your Place of Influence?
Where are you best positioned to demonstrate God’s common grace?
Your work doesn’t have to be overtly “Christian,” and you don’t have to work in “ministry” to extend God’s kingdom on earth. Whether you’re in the arts, business, or technology, you can pursue excellence and beauty in your work; both reflect the character of God.
Think about your work or your workplace. What is notably good about it? What are the areas that need restoration? Is there an opportunity to address issues of injustice? Is there an opportunity to elevate beauty and truth?
This article is part of an ongoing series exploring what it means to live out the Christian faith in all areas of life: family, media, church, art & entertainment, education, government, commerce & technology.
©2021 Cities Project Global
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