A few thoughts on the Sacred Secular Divide
The Bible teaches Jesus is Lord over every part of our lives, and we can give him glory by acting in a Christlike way in everything we do.
“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God”. - 1 Cor 10:31
“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,” Col 3:23
While rightly observing the problem of a sacred secular split, there is a danger of “falling off the horse on the other side.” In proclaiming there’s no difference between work and worship, we diminish any thought of the difference between special and ordinary. Even though work and worship are both under God and both give him glory, they differ in some characteristics. Worship is a part of our life that we understand as being special, that is, distinct, set apart for an uncommon purpose. Special times in life are easily understood as being set apart. God set apart the Sabbath as a special day. Birthdays, date nights, Christmas, and celebrations are special. We have special and ordinary clothes, special and ordinary table settings. We recognize special places we visit, special places to meet with God, even though God is everywhere. Most of life is lived in the ordinary. Jesus is Lord of the special and the ordinary, one is not more important than the other, just different.
The importance of the ordinary -
Having “special” worship experiences encountering God in an unusual way can greatly spur us on to a deeper relationship with him. But following and obeying Jesus daily, in the “ordinary” times of life, will validate the genuineness of our worship and demonstrate the importance of daily discipline contributing to genuine spiritual growth.
Sacred - Secular
an unbiblical view
Under God. In the World
Pastor Doctor
Bible Study. Weeding
Worship Work
Prayer. Planning
Evangelism. Advertising
Special - Ordinary
a biblical view
Under God. Under God
Sunday. Monday
Birthday. Tuesday
Worship Mowing the lawn
Date night. Cleaning house
Marriage Friend
Bible Study
We need to look at a few Bible words to get clarity.
Sacred
Holy
Dedicate
Consecrate
How are these related - NIV Dictionary . . .
H6942 קָדַשׁ qāḏaš 171x v.den.. Q to be holy, sacred, consecrated; N to show oneself holy, be consecrated; P to consecrate, make holy; Pu to be dedicated, consecrated; Ht to consecrate oneself; H to set apart, consecrate, dedicate, regard as holy; to set apart as dedicated to God; by extension: pure, innocent, free from impurity. → consecrate; dedicate; make holy; sanctify; set apart.
God is holy - he still is
Land was dedicated - we stil do this today
Money was dedicated - we do this with church offerings still
Objects in the temple were dedicated
Israel was set apart - Christians are a set apart people
A mountain was holy - Zion -
The Tabernacle had a holy place - we set apart church “sanctuaries”
If something was sacred, it was holy, set apart for a special purpose, it was distinctive, special. The Bible does not use sacred-secular, but it does use holy-common, (special-ordinary).
To dedicate or consecrate something is to make it special, distinct. The opposite is ordinary, regular, usual, common
Webster College Dictionary . . .
spe•cial (ˈspɛʃ əl) - adj.
1. of a distinct or particular kind or character: a special key.
2. pertaining or peculiar to a particular person, thing, instance, etc.; distinctive: the special features of a plan.
3. having a specific or particular function, purpose, etc.: a special messenger.
4. distinguished from what is ordinary or usual: a special occasion.
5. extraordinary; exceptional: special importance.
6. particularly valued: a special friend.
For further explanation see the articles below . . .
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Here’s some other thoughts . . .
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It seems some would say there is no line between the sacred and the secular. This is quite a popular discussion over recent years. My confession is that I am quite tired of this sacred-versus-secular conversation. Why? Because, I think we are separating and discussing something that really is deeper than one dichotomy. Here is how I see it. The profane versus sacred, and the physical versus spiritual are the real dichotomies. We must still choose to hold some things “holy”– just like we do in marriage. And, we must realize that because of the Incarnation, physical is not disconnected to spiritual. So, can a place be spiritual? Physical is not something we just discard as computer minus the software, is it? Its more than that–our Savior is fully physical (human) and divine. Does our integration of sacred and secular degrade the importance of the holy? Or, is the abolishment of that line helpful?
Let me explain. When we say that there are some things that are holy—or set apart for God—we are saying that there are special days, times, and places we decide are God’s more than ours. A bank is set apart to deal with banking. A church is set apart as a place of worship—even if it is used as a basketball court on Monday. The idea that physical space is important and that the things physically created can be holy is something I believe in. A song can indeed be holy, right? It’s design, purpose, function, and beauty are all for the purpose of God’s more than mine. A secular song then can be for any purpose other than that. That difference does not mean God is not in the person who created each or that spirituality is not a part of both. It simply means that things set apart for worship are a specificjust like things for banking are. Being set apart for something sacred or holy then can be a building. What makes it holy is what we purpose for it to be. Should then there be things specific for our life of faith and worship?
If worship is everything then worship is nothing. We are always meant to be in a posture of worship through all we do, say, and think. But, is everything a “special” expression of that worship? When we come to the table and partake in communion, that surely is more than when I sit and have coffee with another person. Indeed, having coffee can still be a “sacramental” moment between your friends and God even though that the venue is other than the communion table. To separate something as holy does not mean the other is not spiritual! It just means that it is not sacred. We can find and connect to our Creator in any setting. We can worship at any time and place because of the Holy Spirit in us. Sacred and secular are a both-and way of living. We learn to worship in both a time and place only for God and live out that worship everywhere else. The two are connected because we are in both places. In other words, let’s not erase a line that is useful. Just like some acts are only for marriage, should not some times, places, and acts only be for God?
To get the full extent of his argument check out the full blog . . .
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What do we mean when we say God is "holy"? By itself the word translated "holy" (qadosh) simply means "set apart, unique, distinct." Theologians have tried to improve on the translation, but we have nothing better than "holy."
The word for "holy" has a wide array of uses in the Bible, but essentially it describes anything that might be set apart for a specific reason. For example, a bowl set apart for use in temple ritual would be called "holy" and could not be used for ordinary or common meals (see Dan. 5:23). The understanding of the word is helped by a study of its antonym, "profane" (khol, from khalal), which refers to anything that is common, ordinary, or secular - not set apart.' What is common may be good and useful in various aspects of life-but it is not "holy," or set apart for God's use.
Allen Ross. “Recalling the Hope of Glory” (Kindle Locations 300-305). Kindle Edition.
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Jesus seems to have eliminated the clean-unclean system of Jewish law. Mk 7:19 Jesus declares all foods clean!
- Paul teaches The law of love in the matter of food offered to idols. I Cor 10: 23 "All things are lawful. In v31 "do all to the glory of God"
Rom 14:5 "esteems a day' - v14 nothing unclean itself but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it is unclean. In v20 "everything is indeed clean
I am suggesting that Jesus and Paul in declaring all foods clean, were not saying everything was now sacred. In other words they were removing the ceremonial clean-unclean category (because of the New Covenant) but not the special-ordinary category. Clean and unclean had to do with Old Testament law and Jesus came to supersede that. Holy-common still existed because there was still the possibility that a person could treat one day special and others not. The Sabbath wasn't abolished by Jesus - its purpose was more clearly explained. It remained in the Jewish culture and in Christian communities. - KN
Os Guiness
THE “PROTESTANT DISTORTION”
Such contortions in the modern effort to reinvest work with dignity pinpoint the second of the two grand distortions that cripple calling—the “Protestant distortion.” Indeed, these contortions are a direct result of the Protestant distortion. Whereas the Catholic distortion is a spiritual form of dualism, elevating the spiritual at the expense of the secular, the Protestant distortion is a secular form of dualism, elevating the secular at the expense of the spiritual. . .
On the one hand, the triumph of secondary callings over the primary calling meant that work was made sacred. Whereas the Bible is realistic about work, . . . the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries lost the balance. Work was not only entirely good, but it also was virtually made holy in a crescendo of enthusiasm that was later termed “the Protestant ethic.” “The man who builds a factory builds a temple,” President Coolidge declared. “The man who works there worships there.” “Work,” Henry Ford proclaimed, “is the salvation of the human race, morally, physically, socially.”
Guinness, Os. The Call (pp. 42-43).
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