Our Casual Culture
When I go out to a fancy restaurant, I like to dress up a bit. I’m not talking about a full-blown suit, but I do put on a nice shirt and pants. However, regardless of how fancy the restaurant is, I always see people wearing T-shirts, jeans, shorts, and athletic gear. And most restaurants don’t care what you wear as long as you pay the bill. But being in an atmosphere where people dress casually detracts from the specialness of the event.
We see this casualness everywhere in our society. It’s not just in the way we dress, but how we interact with each other. Many of us are prone to stare at our screens whenever there is a quiet moment. We often don’t give it a second thought to look at an incoming message even when we’re talking to someone. Our language is more informal (and coarser) and often lacks basic politeness. In general, we’ve abandoned the formalities of etiquette. And that’s not altogether terrible; much of that etiquette seemed unnecessary. But one area where our lack of formality is not acceptable is how we practice our faith.
Is God Okay with Us Ignoring Him?
I’m not going to talk about Mass attendance. I’ve written about that plenty. Instead, I’m going to talk about the casualness we approach our relationship with God. Because our culture is less formal, many times we assume God is less formal as well. We may have friends that completely understand that we get busy or forget about things and so we figured God will understand as well. We assume He’s fine with us missing Mass, not going to Confession, holding beliefs contrary to Catholic teachings, etc. After all, we’re good people and that’s all that matters right?
I’ve written in the past about “Beer Buddy Jesus.” This is the Jesus portrayed in popular media like in the series, The Chosen or those He Gets Us ads. He’s cool, he gets you, and is going to be fine with whatever you do as long as you try your best. But that’s not what the Church teaches! God hasn’t become more casual because our society has. Yes, God “gets” us, but He still expects us to honor Him in the ways He set forth in the Bible and Church teachings. God hasn’t changed His mind or “mellowed out” over his expectation of us receiving the sacraments and following the 10 Commandments.
This assumption that God has somehow changed to suit our modern sensibilities is not only wrong, but dangerous. You have so many people in the world right now not receiving the graces and fruits that come from regular prayer, Mass, and the sacraments. Not practicing your faith is a sin in itself, but it also opens people up to the snares of Satan. We need those virtues of the Holy Spirit actively working in our lives to resist Satan’s attacks. This is why God prescribes a very specific way of living. In His infinite wisdom, God knows Satan better than anyone and He knows what it takes to defeat him. Is it easy and convenient? No. Is it necessary? Absolutely!
As we enter the season of Lent, let us make this a time to strengthen ourselves by doing what God commands — prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Now is not the time to treat our faith and God with such casualness. Lent is the time to repair and strengthen our spiritual armor. It should be a time that we treat differently from the other 325 days of the year. Remember, Jesus spent 40 days in the dessert preparing for His public ministry. Likewise, we are called to spend 40 days apart from our worldly delights as a way of preparation and strengthening.