Sever Your Ties With Modern Culture
There's a difference between knowing the truth and living it. Between acknowledging Christ and actually following Him on the narrow path.
I've spent enough time in fellowship with people seeking truth to see this disconnect clearly. You can't simultaneously pursue God wholeheartedly while remaining entangled in a culture that has severed its ties from godliness. The infrastructure of modern life—the apps, habits, relationships, and rhythms—actively works against spiritual formation.
It's time to make a choice. You cannot serve both God and the patterns of a fallen world.
The Cultural Trap
Modern culture normalizes what is unholy. I learned this firsthand living in different cities with different forms of compromise.
In New York, alcoholism was so normalized that I drank every day for a month and none of my friends said anything. They thought it was funny, even cool. The culture celebrated dysfunction as sophistication. (I went completely sober in November 2019.)
In Austin and Denver, it's psychedelic use disguised as spiritual enlightenment. The new-age consciousness communities make ayahuasca ceremonies and mushroom trips seem like the path to God. Very few people will call you out for chemical dependency when it's wrapped in spiritual language.
Be very careful about the cultures you surround yourself with. Even in Texas, with churches on every corner, I've found it remarkably hard to find people as serious about their walk with God as I hope to be.
We've fallen far from the way of the Tree of Life, and the culture tells us this is just "being human." That sin is normal because we're all fallen.
Sin doesn't have to be normal. It doesn't have to be your default. Unholy culture dominates because leaders have rejected God's design for human flourishing.
The Hard Truth About Separation
Severing ties with sinful culture requires rethinking everything:
Your friendships. Most people in your current circle are not walking toward Christ—they're walking away from Him or standing still. They will pull you back into old patterns because your transformation threatens their comfort with compromise.
Your entertainment. The content you consume shapes your desires. If it celebrates what God calls sin, it's shaping you in the wrong direction.
Your work environment. Does your employment align with your spiritual ideals? Or does it require you to compromise daily?
Your romantic standards. You cannot marry someone who doesn't follow Christ wholeheartedly. Being "equally yoked" isn't a suggestion—it's a requirement for spiritual health. A lukewarm Christian or nonbeliever will drag your spiritual life down.
Your definition of fun. If your recreation depends on compromising God's standards, you need new recreation.
Look around any major city—Austin, New York, San Francisco, Paris, London. You'll find different forms of lukewarmness and direct rebellion to God's will. The default way people live, have fun, and pursue happiness is materially focused and spiritually destructive.
The Cost of Walking Apart
Separation isn't comfortable. You will:
- Feel lonely as you distance yourself from relationships built around shared sin
- Feel misunderstood when you can't participate in cultural rituals others take for granted
- Experience withdrawal from dopamine sources you used to rely on—social media validation, weekend binges, sexual fantasy
- Face social pressure to "lighten up" and "live a little"
You have to be willing to be misunderstood. You have to be willing to feel uncomfortable. This is the cost of walking the narrow path.
But here's what you gain: alignment between your stated beliefs and your lived reality. Freedom from dependencies that were slowly destroying you. Peace that comes from living according to God's design rather than fighting it.
Building New Foundations
As you sever ties with our sin-celebrating culture, actively build connections to righteousness:
Seek fellowship with people who are genuinely seeking God, not just playing Christian on Sundays.
Find mentors who can guide you through the challenges of living counter-culturally.
Create new rhythms for rest, celebration, and community that honor God rather than compromise Him.
Develop new entertainment that feeds your soul rather than starving it.
The path gets easier as you build spiritual infrastructure to replace what you're leaving behind. But you must be willing to leave first.
Reflection and Practice
Ask yourself as you navigate cultural choices:
- Does this activity draw me toward God or away from Him?
- Am I choosing this from freedom or from addiction/pressure?
- Would I be comfortable with Jesus participating in this with me?
- Is this building my character or compromising it?
Our late‑stage secular world will not fill your cup or bring you closer to God. It was never designed to. Sever your ties with sinful culture—daily. Choose the narrow path over social comfort.
"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." — Romans 12:2