The drone of the approaching small airplane drew a crowd of villagers to the dirt airstrip to await its landing.  In a remote jungle village, the arrival of the airplane provided a break from the monotony of daily life. . . a curiosity, a diversion, some free entertainment.  But when the new-to-the-area pilot climbed down from the plane and the villagers laid eyes on him for the first time there was an audible reaction.  Everyone was commenting, staring and making unusual sounds.  

The pilot couldn’t help but notice.  As the murmurs continued, he turned to the resident missionary and enquired, “Why are they so excited?  What are they saying?”

The kind missionary responded, “Oh, they’re just commenting.”

“Commenting on what?” said the pilot.

“Well, if you must know, they’re saying that you would make a very big, delicious meal because you are so large.”

And thus began the young pilot’s career in cannibal country.

I’m betting you’re chuckling (with a hint of condescension).  You’re worried about the well-being of the pilot.  And you’re thinking, ‘How primitive that those jungle-dwellers would eat other humans!’  The very same reaction I had when our pilot friend recounted this story to us years ago when we lived near him.  A few days ago I was telling this story to some dear lady friends.  Afterward, I felt guilty for my condescending attitude toward those cannibals.  It got me to thinking about what makes me different from them.  Why do they eat people and I don’t?

They’re cannibals because they bought into the culture they were born into.  They had no other frame of reference to decide whether or not the way of living they saw in their environment was a good way to live or not.  They had simply accepted this lifestyle. Culture is passed on to us by those who influence us by example.  They had simply stumbled along behind those who had power over them.

You and I have been influenced by those around us.  We had wonderful people in our lives who showed us by example how to be loving, kind, and honest.  What if we had never known anything but trying to survive in a hostile environment?  What if we had never heard of a loving God who cares for us?  What if we had to try to explain why people got sick and died without any knowledge of medical science?  What if our society had for generations practiced witchcraft and depended on evil spirits and superstition to deal with the unexplainable?  What if we had never heard of the one true God?  What if we had never heard of loving our neighbor like we love ourselves?

We have the wisdom of the ancient Scriptures readily available to us.  Many of us also have had the benefit of people in our lives who model a lifestyle patterned after the Bible.  We have all the tools necessary to evaluate our culture.  Should we embrace our modern culture and fall in line with the powerful molders of our society without question?  Or should we select the good and reject the immoral, the hateful, and the greedy we’re bombarded with?  But how do we decide what is immoral?  Our culture has it’s own idea of morality which has changed radically during my lifetime.  Do we just accept the latest ideas of what’s ok?  Or do we go back to the only standard that has stood the test of time without changing?  Do we feel the pressure to have the nicest things we can get to feel better about ourselves or do we choose to live within our means and be happy?  Do we join in the chorus of haters on social media or do we treat others with respect, even those with whom we disagree?

All of us are products of our culture.  We are influenced on a daily basis by the messages of the media and by those we spend time with.  But we, in this time and in this place, have at our fingertips a way to choose the good.  We don’t have to blindly stumble along behind the powerful.  We have a Guidebook that reveals how to know what is good.  There are other guidebooks that claim to explain the good way.  But the advantage of Biblical faith is that God comes alongside us and in us and actually gives us the power to do what we see is right.  Many philosophies are noble, but who of us is capable of being noble?  Our own strong selfish desires drag us down into immorality, greed, and power-seeking.  Only a power stronger than ourselves can save us from ourselves.  Only a higher power can draw us higher than ourselves.

Most of my readers are nodding in agreement.  Yet how do we on a daily basis live in truth and love?  We’re all painfully aware that we fall short of this lofty goal.  Scripture has a lot to say about how God changes us for the good from the inside out.  

We change our way of thinking about God

“But now we are seeing the righteousness of God declared quite apart from the Law (though amply testified to by both Law and Prophets)—it is a righteousness imparted to all who have faith in Jesus Christ. (For there is no distinction to be made anywhere: everyone has sinned, everyone falls short of the beauty of God’s plan.) Under this divine system a man who has faith is now freely acquitted in the eyes of God by his generous dealing in the redemptive act of Jesus Christ. God has appointed him as the means of propitiation, a propitiation accomplished by the shedding of his blood, to be received and made effective in ourselves by faith. God has done this to demonstrate his righteousness both by the wiping out of the sins of the past and by showing in the present time that he is a just God and that he justifies every man who has faith in Jesus Christ.  Romans 3:21-26

We change our way of thinking about ourselves

“With eyes wide open to the mercies of God, I beg you, my brothers, as an act of intelligent worship, to give him your bodies, as a living sacrifice, consecrated to him and acceptable by him. Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold, but let God re-mold your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity.

Don’t cherish exaggerated ideas of yourself or your importance, but try to have a sane estimate of your capabilities by the light of the faith that God has given to you all. For just as you have many members in one physical body and those members differ in their functions, so we, though many in number, compose one body in Christ and are all members of one another. Through the grace of God we have different gifts.” Romans 12:1-7

We change our way of thinking about others.

 ^“So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”  2 Corinthians 5:16-17

We set aside time to read the Guidebook 

“Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”  Acts 17:11

“I will study your commandments
and reflect on your ways.

I will delight in your decrees
and not forget your word.  Psalm 119:15-16

“But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you.  You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus.  All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.”  2 Timothy 3:14-16

We set our hearts on obeying the Guidebook

“Joyful are people of integrity,
who follow the instructions of the Lord.
Joyful are those who obey his laws
and search for him with all their hearts.

They do not compromise with evil,
and they walk only in his paths.

As I learn your righteous regulations,
I will thank you by living as I should!
I will obey your decrees.
Please don’t give up on me!”  Psalm 119:1-8

“encourage me by your word.
Keep me from lying to myself;
give me the privilege of knowing your instructions.
I have chosen to be faithful;
I have determined to live by your regulations.”  Psalm 119:28-30