What happens to culture when our attitude toward God changes is a result to how people’s attitude to truth changes. In every generation, the reverence towards God profoundly impacts culture. Throughout history, a community reveres and honors God, its moral direction and cultural integrity align with righteousness and truth have been demonstrated. When a community turns away from God, the consequences ripple through every aspect of life, reshaping values, distorting truth, and eroding the foundations of justice.
The Foundation of Truth: Genesis 1:1 and the Importance of Our Attitude Toward God
Genesis is the first book of the Bible It lays the groundwork for understanding the importance of our attitude toward God. In Genesis 1:1, we read, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” This foundational verse sets the stage for acknowledging God as the Creator and sustainer of all things. No evolution…no big bang….God simply spoke the world into existence. When we honor God as the ultimate authority and source of truth, our cultural values and norms align with His divine wisdom and moral order.
All through Genesis, we go through history that highlight the consequences of humanity’s attitudes toward God. The account of Adam and Eve’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden reveals how a shift in their reverence toward God led to a distortion of truth and a rupture in their relationship with Him. Their disobedience not only impacted their personal lives but also had major implications for the culture they lived in.
In Genesis 6, we have Noah and the great flood. Noah’s amazing faith and obedience to God shone brightly in the middle of the prevalent corruption and wickedness in his society. He preached for over 100 years while building the ark and no one turned from their sins. He had to be frustrated seeing no results and people making fun of him. This world-wild flood (yes, water covered the entire planet. There are fossilized fish bones on top of mountains. There is remnants of the deepest ocean floor on top of mountains that cannot be explained unless there was a world-wide flood), serves as a powerful reminder of the consequences of turning away from God and rejecting His truth. In Genesis 9:13, God declares, “I am putting My bow in the clouds.” Key phrase is MY BOW. That is God’s rainbow. This covenant sign of the rainbow symbolized God’s promise that the Earth would never be flooded again. The LGBTQ community has used this sacred symbol as a means to mock God’s covenant. When humanity’s attitude toward God changes, moral decay sets in, leading to societal breakdown and chaos.
The Tower of Babel in Genesis 11 illustrates another instance of humanity’s rebellion against God. The people sought to build a tower to reach the heavens and make a name for themselves, disregarding God’s authority and plan. As a result of their pride and defiance, God scattered them, causing confusion in their languages. This event shows the results of constant disobedience of truth when God is not revered as the ultimate source of wisdom. This is God’s world. He knows what is best….we don’t. Jeremiah 17:9.says The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
The Centrality of God in Culture
God is the ultimate source of truth and moral order. When people recognize His sovereignty, they are guided by His wisdom and laws. Proverbs 9:10 declares, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Acknowledging God as the foundation of wisdom ensures that justice, compassion, and truth prevail in society.
Cultures that honor God often experience stability and flourishing. For example, the biblical nation of Israel was blessed when it followed God’s commandments. Deuteronomy 28:1-2 states, “If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all His commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God.”
However, the opposite is also true. When Israel abandoned God, it faced chaos, oppression, and exile (Judges 2:11-15). A society’s attitude toward God determines whether it builds on a foundation of truth or crumbles under moral decay.
The Shift in Culture When God Is Rejected
When a society rejects God, cultural priorities shift from glorifying Him to glorifying self. Romans 1:21-22 warns, “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools.”
Rejecting God leads to idolatry—whether in the form of materialism, power, or human reasoning. As people turn from God, truth becomes relative, morality becomes subjective, and selfishness becomes the norm. This moral decline is evident in the rise of injustice, exploitation, and broken relationships. Today’s culture is constantly saying ‘Do what is best for you….just be you…do what your heart feels right…” No….do what God’s says to do. Read the Bible, pray, are you doing things based on God’s commandments?
People’s Attitude Toward Truth Changes
When a culture abandons God, its understanding of truth also shifts. Jesus declared, “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6). Without acknowledging God, truth loses its anchor and society does whatever they feel is right in their eyes.
Isaiah 5:20 is an example of this transformation: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.” As society rejects absolute truth, moral confusion reigns. What was once universally condemned is celebrated, and what was once celebrated is condemned. Judges 21:25b says “everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Does this sound like today’s society?
The New Testament highlights this dynamic in 2 Timothy 4:3-4: “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” Again…does this sound like today’s society? We as a culture is getting farther away from God by disobeying Him and we wonder why the world is where it is at right now! When people would rather come out of the closet than clean it, then we know things will continue to get worse. This country….no, this world, needs to get back to God again! The world’s way of ignoring God is not working!
Restoring God’s Place in Culture
Despite the challenges, there is hope for cultural renewal when people turn back to God. Revival begins with individuals repenting and seeking His face (2 Chronicles 7:14). When God’s truth is restored as the foundation of society, justice, mercy, and righteousness follow.
Romans 12:2 encourages believers to resist cultural decay: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will.”
There will come a time when God will declare “enough is enough.” Fortunately, God demonstrates immense patience. While the devil roams the Earth, he hates God but causes problems among God’s children….a.k.a…all of humanity. Sin and suffering will eventually come to an end, as promised in the book of Revelation. The first two and last chapters of the Bible is when everything is good. Sin and the devil’s presence is gone. Everything in between the first two and last two chapters is a world ruined by sin, with God’s grand plan of Salvation through Jesus aimed at redemption and restoration.
Conclusion
A society’s attitude toward God profoundly influences its culture and its relationship with truth. When God is honored, truth thrives, and culture flourishes. When He is rejected, truth becomes distorted, and society falters. As believers, our responsibility is to remain steadfast in God’s truth, living as lights in a dark world and praying for cultural renewal.
May we always remember the words of Psalm 33:12: “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He chose for his inheritance.”
Points to think about.
In what ways has your attitude toward God influenced the way you view truth, morals, and culture? Are there areas in your life where you might be conforming to cultural norms rather than God’s truth?
If you are a Christian, how can you, as a follower of Christ, actively contribute to restoring God’s truth in your community or workplace? What steps can you take to be a light in a society that often rejects God? If you are a non-chrisitan and have read all of this, has anything that you read affected you?
What practical changes can you make this week to align your personal values and actions with God’s truth, even if it means standing against cultural trends or facing opposition?
All through history, man wants to do things “man’s way.” How is this working out for all of us? Let’s try God’s way and see what happens!
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