What is a Biblical Worldview & Why is it Important?
Wow, having to follow Ari on my first blog post is honestly a bit intimidating, but man, am I excited to dig into this with y’all. If you missed her post about what a worldview actually is, you can read it here, but in short, a worldview is a lens from which a person, you or I, view the world. I have even heard it explained as “what we assume to be true about the world.” Everything from social media culture, to our friends, to the way we were raised directly impacts the way we think, see, and interact with the world. Because our worldviews affect the way we interact with the world and with others, that is the exact reason it is so crucial, as a Christian, to have a Biblical worldview.
You are probably asking what that even means or looks like, and most of my life I wasn’t too sure what it meant either, but it is actually just actively trying to view the world through the lens of the Bible. I like to imagine it as if I had Bible glasses (see my wacked out doodle). When you look at the world through the context of the Bible, you then react to the world in the context of the Bible. As Christ followers we strive to live a life surrendered to God’s will. To live out the Gospel, understanding that we are all sinners in need of the Savior. To love with reckless abandon, even when it “doesn’t make sense.” To react to the world through a Biblical lens is to react in love – again, why it is so very important.
So, if worldview is ultimately the way we think about the world and what we assume to be true about the world, then the pursuit of a Biblical worldview can be simplified into pursuing a Biblical way of thinking. Sounds easy enough, right? Unfortunately, the enemy is out to get you and me in absolutely anyway he can. Especially through our minds and thoughts. The devil will disguise himself as everyone else and what they’re doing, and what that Instagram post said, and who your trusted professor is quoting, and all the “well, my mom always says.” These people likely are not out to get you, but Satan certainly is. He will take any opportunity he can to twist the words of others and deceive us into thinking in a way that is not God-honoring.
“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces [or the basic principles] of this world rather than on Christ.” (Colossians 2:8 NIV)
The Bible warns us that this will happen and that we must be rooted in Him and His Word. The Bible also tells us what happens when we buy into the narratives of the world rather than God’s Word:
“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” (Galatians 6:7-8 NIV)
If we are investing our thought power into the ways of the world, we will produce not only worldly worldviews but also worldly lives; on the contrary, if we invest our thought power into the ways of the Bible, we will produce Godly worldviews and Godly lives. This is what sets us apart as Christians.
One person is not physically capable of having two worldviews. One cannot simply think like the world AND think like the Bible. It is not possible. The two do not coincide. I admit, I am not always perfect in this. No one is, and it takes a lot of conditioning, Bible reading, Holy Spirit leaning, and consciously choosing to rethink principles you already know to practice a Biblical worldview, but I assure you it is possible – and oh so worth it! At the end of the day, it takes knowing the Father and knowing his Word; it is not simply what is in your hand, but it is what is in your heart. I encourage you to wrestle with this question I often ask myself: from what lens are you viewing the world? Next week my dear friend Regs will give some practical steps towards cultivating a Biblical worldview, or way of thinking.
“At the end of the day, it takes knowing the Father and knowing his Word; it is not simply what is in your hand, but it is what is in your heart.”