2 Corinthians 5:17 – Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
Natural human tendency is to be concerned with self, then family, then tribe – applying our talents and resources to benefit those we most care about, sometimes to the detriment of others. We love those who are close to us and want to protect them. Others matter less, even to the point of using or enslaving them for our own benefit. We can take advantage of others by providing minimal support to those who we use to amplify our efforts in acquiring resources for ourselves.
Christ generates a renewal of our basic nature. When we accept Christ, He re-creates us as children of God and we begin a journey of obedience and (as far as is possible) understanding how God would have us treat others and what we should do. We have a new family of all other believers, and the example of the life of Jesus in how to relate to humankind and the world.
There is still a responsibility to support our family and tribe, but the family is now much larger. The guidance of the Holy Spirit should help us to sort the competing responsibilities in a manner consistent with the love of God.
So, how are we doing? Are there ways that we still participate in the unfair use of others? Are we entangled in systems that are unfair to some to benefit our own tribe? It can be difficult to cut through the norms of our culture to identify those areas that we may still need to address. The new has come, but the old may still wrap itself around our feet and impede our progress.
Christ came to make creation new, providing an alternative to the old broken ways of treating each other and the world. We can play a part in that new creation.
Mike Atchley