Everyone Has a Worldview

Review Session 1

Review Questions:

Last week we began our series on Eliminating the Sacred/Secular Divide. We began the study by asking a very important question:

Why did God create people? [Give time to answer before revealing answers]

For His glory

To reflect His image

To steward creation

To love and worship Him

We also saw that there is a worldview that has effectively replaced the Biblical worldview. Who remembers what the worldviews were that we looked at? We looked at one in particular, but we mentioned a couple of others.

Secular Humanism (Postmodern Secular Individualism)

Materialism

Naturalism

What are 4 key aspects of a Biblical worldview that we looked at last week?

God made, owns, and sustains all things.

God created people with a specific role and function. Genesis 1:26-28 to subdue the earth and have dominion over it. To govern over it.

Secondary creations glorify God when done well. What is a secondary creation?

Earth-tending is God’s assignment to mankind. Stewarding the earth/God’s creation. In All areas.

In your words, what is the “first commission”? Genesis 1:28 “28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”

How does understanding the first commission help us more effectively carry out the great commission?

Theme Verse

I thought that it would be appropriate to have a theme verse for this series. There are many good verses that have to do with maintaining a Biblical worldview, or a uniview, a worldview that says that all things fall under the scope of God’s authority and that He cares for everything that happens in every area of creation. But I think that since the title of our series is Salt and Life Living, the best verses for us to keep in mind would be Matthew 5:13-16. And hopefully you are starting to have a deeper understanding to these verses even now. Let’s go ahead and read them together.

Matthew 5:13–16 KJV 1900

13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. 14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Everyone Has a Worldview

Last week we ended by defining the word worldview. Today we are going to look at that definition one more time, and also look at the importance of worldviews. One of the things that we need to realized is that everyone has a worldview. Whether they understand what a worldview is or not, whether their worldview falls into a named worldview neatly, or they cannot explain their worldview, everyone has a worldview.

Let’s look first at the definition of a worldview.

Our working definition for a worldview goes like this:

A worldview is a “big picture” of reality shaped by conscious or subconscious assumptions about the following five areas: God, Creation, Humanity, Moral Order, and Purpose.

It has been said that a worldview is "A comprehensive framework of beliefs that helps us to interpret what we see and experience and also gives us direction in the choices that we make as we live out our days."

Here we see 3 concentric circles. This diagram will help us explain the importance that a worldview has upon us.

The outside circle has the word BEHAVIOR. This is what people see of us. These behaviors are what the world can readily see about us. Behavior is what is said and done; it is also what is not said and not done. In the context of the workplace, what is the behavior of a mechanic? fixing cars, servicing parts, analyzing problems, etc. Of a homemaker? What about of an engineer?

But what drives our behavior? If you were to guess what drives our behavior, what would you say it is?

To understand what drives behavior, we must go deeper than that. Most people who want to see good practices at work would agree that VALUES (second circle) provide the drive for good workplace behavior. Many companies and organizations hang their “Core Values” in a nice frame in the lobby entrance for all to see. Typically, they want their employees behavior to be driven by these values.

For example, I looked up General Mills’ core values. They are on their website. Does anyone here know them?

This is directly off their website:

Win together: We compete to lead through shared goals, teamwork, and heart.

Innovation: We never stop learning, evolving, and exploring to stay ahead of the curve.

Inclusion: We respect and include all voices, ideas, and perspectives.

Do the right thing all the time: We preserve and grow the trust we’ve earned from our consumers, customers, and communities.

One of their core values must also be “only use the Oxford comma 25% of the time” or something like that too…

But really, what kind of specific behaviors do you think that these values are meant to drive?

The Army has Core Values. There are seven of them, and they are laid out in a way that spell “leadership”, kind of...

What kind of specific behaviors are these values meant to drive, do you think?

Companies may identify these things as “core values” or “guiding principles” and these are typically formalized in a document of some sort. These documents serve to show to employees and executives what the values are in hopes that the behaviors will reflect the values, at least in theory.

Values drive behavior.

Often, however, those values may not be the driver of employees. An employee may be driven to do his job for the value of a paycheck. It may be the value of having authority or power that drives a manager or a supervisor. But ultimately, values do drive behaviors.

But values come from somewhere. Behind the values there is something that answers the why question. When we push this why question as far back as we can, we will run into the driving force behind everything - the essential thing that gives meaning and significance and understanding to our existence, and therefore our work, our interactions with family, and how we spend our time alone. It is nothing other than our WORLDVIEW (inside circle).

If we as Christians want to fulfill and advance the purposes of God and fulfill the first commission and the great commission, we need to be driven by something much deeper than good values. We need to have a godly, biblical worldview. Worldviews shape ideas that govern values that drive behaviors.

Identifying specific biblical truths and discovering how these truths can generate significant workplace, homelife, personal values and meaningful behavior is what this series is all about. A biblically formed worldview provides meaning and provides a reason and a motivation to be firm. This is why a biblical worldview is so important.

The Five Basic Questions Every Worldview Answers

There are a myriad of worldviews out there. Every religion offers a worldview.

Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, and even Marxism and Leninism and atheism are all worldviews. And like all other worldviews, they answer these five basic questions.

1. Who or what is the ultimate authority or highest power, and what is the nature and role of this force or entity?

2. What makes up all the stuff of the universe, how did it get here, and is there more to it than meets the eye?

3. Who are human beings, what gives them value, what happens when they die, and how do they know what is true?

4. How do people determine right and wrong?

5. Is there a reason and purpose for all that exists?

Whatever people consciously (or unconsciously) believe (or assume to be true) with respect to these five critical questions will determine their worldview, which will in turn shape their values and influence their behavior.

Think and Discuss: Which of the five worldview questions above do you think plays the most important role in shaping the values and behavior in your particular work? Why?

How does a Biblical worldview answer these questions?

1. Who or what is the ultimate authority or highest power, and what is the nature and role of this force or entity?

God. He is holy, righteous, and just. He is the creator, owner, and sustainer of it all. He loves mankind, hates sin, and created us for His pleasure.

2. What makes up all the stuff of the universe, how did it get here, and is there more to it than meets the eye?

God created all that makes up the universe - every molecule, atom, quark, and any yet undiscovered building block. It was created by His word and the action of God the Son in 6 days. The creation is both material and spiritual.

3. Who are human beings, what gives them value, what happens when they die, and how do they know what is true?

Human beings are creations made in God’s image. Those two things give us value (being created by God, and being made in God’s image). We are created with a body, soul, and spirit. The body is the physical, material part of us. The spirit is given to us by God, it is that which enables us to have fellowship with God (who is a spirit). Because of sin, men are spiritually dead until they they recognize Jesus as Lord and accept His work and sacrifice as the only payment for sin that can reconcile them to God the Father. The soul is that which makes a person who he or she is. It is the seat of the emotions, will, and philosophies of man. This part is eternal, and when the body dies, the unredeemed soul goes to a fiery hell where they await final judgement and the sentence of eternity in a lake of fire. The redeemed soul immediately goes to the presence of the Lord where he awaits the resurrection and perfection of his body. The redeemed, or the saved, will dwell and reign with Jesus Christ forever.

The way that we know truth is by what God reveals in His word and by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. That which the Spirit teaches will never contradict the Scriptures. That is the test of truth.

4. How do people determine right and wrong?

People determine right and wrong based off the moral code that is written upon our hearts. (Romans 2:14–15 “14 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: 15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another.” ) We can see further what is right and wrong in the Bible, and those that are saved will know right and wrong further through the Holy Spirit (which, again, will never contradict Scripture).

5. Is there a reason and purpose for all that exists?

There is a purpose for all that exists. All is made for the glory of God. Creation was made to be governed by people, who are in turn, in their subjugation and governance of creation, to bring God all the glory.

Debilitating, Faulty Assumptions

Before we get into how maintaining this worldview will make a difference in workplace, family, and church culture, let’s take a look at some faulty premises/assumptions that have a debilitating effect on Christians being able to live out a Biblical worldview.

The Bible tells us that we can be taken captive by faulty assumptions, or the result of faulty assumptions. This is strong language. This is serious language. This metaphor is used to make us realize that there is active spiritual warfare going on around us. Christians are in a battle, and if we are not careful, we will become prisoners of war.

Colossians 2:8 “8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”

The word spoil means to take captive. This warning here is for us to understand that there are philosophies that can take us captive, can lead us away from Christ and a Biblical worldview. The word philosophy means the love of wisdom. Paul is not cautioning against all philosophies, but there are philosophies that are not according to Christ. These are the ones that present problems.

Paul is not saying, “Don’t think.” On the contrary, he is saying, “Think carefully, and make sure that the philosophy you have adopted and are following is after Christ, or according to Christ.”

We are exhorted in the Bible not to be passive about our thinking. We are to be active in taking captive the thoughts or philosophies are not after Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5

2 Corinthians 10:5 KJV 1900

5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

Where Colossians is a defensive skill, 2 Corinthians is an offensive skill.

Think and Discuss: Name one thought that may take you "captive" in your workplace (at school, for students). What are some undesirable behaviors springing from that thought?

How Do We Protect Our Thoughts?

How do we take thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ, like 2 Corinthians says? What does it mean in the context of our daily work?

We need to understand that taking thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ is a learned skill. There are some practical tools that we can use in doing this.

1. Taking Thoughts Captive Is Worldview Dependent

We must fully understand that whether we are taken captive by thoughts or we take our thoughts captive to Christ depends on one critical factor: Our Worldview

We are going to watch a short video that will help us to see what we mean when we say that a worldview gives us a big picture frame of reference to be able to make sense of the world.

When the video begins, your task is to figure out what the meaning of the picture is, even thought you will only be able to see a small portion of the whole. Try to identify it as fully as you can.

Video 1 [Read the following first.]

In a moment, a small piece of a larger picture will appear. Your task is to identify what you are looking at. Your group will have about 30 seconds to determine what you are seeing and to describe as many details as you can about the larger (unseen) picture surrounding the small piece. [Play video 1]

Alright, what do you think that we are looking at? What is the big picture?

[After responses, play video 2]

Video 2

Who got it right? If you didn’t, don’t feel bad. Most people don’t get it right. That’s because they come into this exercise with a different big picture in their minds.

Now, look at this same piece and think of the big picture around it. What is it? bananas

But is it really? This is the same square that we saw earlier, but I want you to see something.

Video 3 [Play]

Here is a totally different big picture. But this is not the actual picture from which that smaller square was taken.

This picture of the farm has been altered digitally to mislead you. Notice the clouds in front of the sun. Those are real, belonging to this picture. But the clouds on the horizon, over the hill on the left hand side, have been altered digitally to look like the square that we originally looked at. The square that actually belongs to bananas.

Video 4 [Play]

This exercise illustrates that our mental concept of the “bigger picture” affects our interpretation of smaller pieces.

This is what a worldview does. It serves as a “bigger picture” to help us make sense of the smaller pieces of life. It causes us to view things in certain, predictable ways.

When it comes to interpreting the “smaller things” of life correctly, particularly in the workplace, there is no substitute for having a bigger picture that’s trustworthy.

Having a worldview that is Biblical will protect you from seeing the incorrect, distorted picture that others fall prey to. This in turn will help you analyze thoughts and philosophies correctly. Do they fit into the big picture of the Bible and God? or do they belong to a false philosophy and a distorted picture?

2. Frequency Saturation

There is another strategy that the Bible gives to protect our thoughts. It is the strategy of saturation. This is both an offensive and defensive tool in one.

The military uses a variety of systems to help counter remotely detonated IEDs. When I was in, one of the systems they used was the WARLOCK system that intercepted signals that were being transmitted. Then there came the DUKE system, and I do not know exactly what they are using now. There are many different ways to prevent those kind of remote detonations, and signal interception is one of them. Another way to prevent them is through frequency saturation.

Frequency saturation fills certain frequencies with signals so that no other signal can get through on those bands. For example, if I have built a bomb and am using a remote control and receiver that operates on a 75MHz band. When I send the signal over that frequency, it will detonate the bomb. But, if I saturate that band with other signals, I can prevent the code or signal from being transmitted at all. It just can’t get through.

The Bible tells us to use just this type of strategy in our minds as well. Philippians 4:8

Philippians 4:8 KJV 1900

8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

What Sets Man Free From Faulty Assumptions?

If faulty assumptions take us captive, then what makes us free? Truth!

John 8:31–32 KJV 1900

31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

When will we know the truth? When we continue in Jesus’ words. That does not just mean reading them or listening to them. It means applying them. You can memorize the whole Bible and be captivated by incorrect philosophies. You can listen to the Bible all day while you’re at work and read it all night while you are at home. It does not mean a thing unless you put it into practice.

Love your wife - that’s what husbands should do. To what extent? To the extent that Jesus loved the church and gave His life for it. But too many husbands don’t even lift a finger to love their wives.

Be poor in spirit mourn over your sin - That is what we are to do in order to start experiencing happiness on a deeper level than we could ever imagine. But instead, too many Christians live in pride and think that they are doing nothing wrong. They chase after everything else that doesn’t give anything but temporary pleasure.

Love those that treat you wrong - we’re supposed to do that, but what do we do with our bosses or coworkers? We talk bad about them, we avoid them, we do and say things that will get under their skin.

It is about time that we start doing the things that the Bible says to do instead of just learning them and saying them. Otherwise, we have a worthless faith.

James 2:14–18 KJV 1900

14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, 16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? 17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.

Does your behavior line up with what you say you believe? If it does not, then you have different values and a different worldview. What you ultimately believe will come out in actions. If you really hold to the worldview that the Bible presents, it will come out in your behavior.

Conclusion

Questions or comments?

Next week we will be looking at how wroldviews shape cultures and how they affect the workplace. We will talk a bit more about how big pictures affect how we interpret the small pieces.

We will also look at how Plato’s philosophies have negatively affected the church and Christians millennia after his death, and how that paved the way for dualism, the thought that the world can be divided into things that are sacred and things that are not.

Next week we will also begin to see how we can practically begin to think and apply biblical worldviews to the workplace and at home. [awesome activator]