A Chip Off the Old Block

Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God. - 3 John 11

Someone once said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If this is true, then the things we imitate are honored in our hearts and minds. Which, of course, begs the question, "What are we imitating from our culture?" What has the church imitated or borrowed from the culture in which it exists? Who should be imitating whom?

though I haven't heard the expression in a while, we used to say that if a child took after one of their parents, they were "a chip off the old block." Meaning that, in many ways the child shared many of their parent's traits, characteristics, and in some cases even their looks.

Maybe it is time we examined everything we do and ask ourselves if the activities, programs and structures in our churches are more about popularity or relevance than obedience to God's Word. Who is flattered more by our actions, and imitation, God or contemporary culture? From what "block" has today's church truly been "chipped?"

It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation. - Herman Melville