Inevitably, problems arise when we argue for our particular perspective of the world. 

Set your worldview on the table and you are bound to find someone who agrees or, more likely, disagrees with your view, especially if that metaphorical table is the internet. However, one worldview stands to be scrutinized more than the rest, and that is the Christian worldview. Why? Because it is the only worldview that provides an objective standard by which its adherents are held accountable; this standard is the Bible. 

Worldview is far bigger than political ideals and is far deeper than personal preferences. It operates from the very core of a person; it generates answers to questions we have not yet thought to ask ourselves! Worldview is how we receive, perceive, and conceive of the way the world works around us. 

We have a worldview that began in our infancy. However, for those who have been called by God’s grace, we ought to be maturing in a Christian worldview that is progressively shaped by the authority of God’s Word. For this reason, a Christian worldview is a word view—it is a view of the heart and the world that is constantly and consistently constrained by God’s word. A healthy Christian worldview is best achieved by daily biblical meditation; the spiritual discipline which enjoins the Christian to think, with all faculties, upon how the Scripture informs them as they experience the world. 

Biblical meditation is the means for a healthy Christian worldview:

Three verses come to mind when contemplating biblical meditation. 

Romans 12:2,

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Philippians 4:8–9,

“Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me--practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” 

Colossians 3:1–3,

“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” 

These three verses demonstrate Paul’s understanding of how the Holy Spirit uses Scripture to change the Christian. First, we are renewed; our minds are transformed. Second, we are to actively pursue this renewing by what we set against our thoughts (see also Joshua 1:8 and Psalm 1). Third, we are to gaze at Christ and place all our thoughts before him. 

What is our role in this process? The Puritan minister John Ball provided a definition for biblical meditation that shows how we practice this discipline:

Meditation is a serious, earnest, and purposed musing upon some point of Christian instruction, tending to lead us forward toward the Kingdom of Heaven, and serving for our daily strengthening against the flesh, the world, and the Devil. Or it is a steadfast and earnest bending of the mind upon some spiritual and heavenly matter, discoursing thereof with ourselves, till we bring the same to some profitable issue, both for the settling of our judgments and bettering of our hearts and lives.[1]

So biblical meditation not only helps the Christian along in devotion and personal reflection but it also “settles our judgments;” that realm of conscience that nurtures our social interactions, precedes our political ideologies, and shapes our view of the world.

Our meditation is not merely for knowledge, but for spiritual knowledge that invigorates the heart and mind. It is not for affirmation, but for application. We are to read Scripture, ruminate on it, and discover far-reaching applications, especially with regard to our worldview. As a conservative, as a particular Baptist, or as any other label I can apply to myself, I must recognize that I am always inclined to affirm my positions when I open the Bible—this is not healthy worldview-shaping, it is merely Christopher-coddling. Even the most virtuous of icons is yet an icon that must be dashed to the ground before God’s word. Biblical meditation is the practice of constraining and enjoining the believer to expose and excise what is at fault and to re-stabilize the faith which is daily disposed to shifting.   

In his commentary on the third chapter of Colossians, Jerry Sumney identifies the heart as “the seat of moral, emotional, and intellectual life.” The heart acts in accordance with a person’s attentions and intentions to convey the object of its pursuit.[2] This is a wise assertion. The heart is what’s at stake when it comes to shaping our worldview. As believers, our hearts must be in constant pursuit of Christ through the way we comprehend the world around us. Therefore, our attentions and intentions should be demonstrated in ways that honor Christ and seek his glory. Our Christian worldview is another venue for meditation, for expressing our heart. 

As exhaustive as our worldview might be, if it is not renewed, not transformed by the spiritual knowledge that comes through Scripture, then we are not champions of reality, but mouthpieces for oblivion. Surely we must scrutinize our attentions and intentions. We are not simply obedient to the often quoted, “What would Jesus do?,” but to a real and satisfying renewing of the mind by the Spirit of God. We are not distinguished simply because we spend more time around Christians or spend more time at conservative social media outlets, but because we are growing in our discernment as to how the Bible informs our decision making, adjusts our response to hot-button issues, and supplies us with grace toward others with whom we discuss political matters.

Persevering in the face of clashing worldviews:

We ought to recognize the inevitable clashing of worldviews considering how this was a promise in John 15:19—the world is not going to love us, much less understand us. How do we remain steadfast in our Christian worldview while the world around us seemingly falls apart? One simple answer is to meditate on the words of Psalm 119 and observe how the Psalmist deals with opposing worldviews. 

First, the Psalmist is resolute in performing his spiritual disciplines (Ps 119:15, 97). Second, he grows in the discipline of meditation and in delight of the practice through the Holy Spirit’s blessing (Ps 119:27, 32). Third, he delights in the word through his entire faculties and personhood; this witnessed by distinguishable changes to his actions, thoughts, and motivations (Ps 119:16, 112). Fourth, he does not cower, fear, or stoop to aggression when contrary views press against him (Ps 119:110, 157). 

The clashing of worldviews is nothing to be fearful of. Rather, it should be welcomed as a means to reveal the gospel to ourselves and to those with whom we inevitably differ. Therefore, welcome scrutiny as a tool for sharpening the message of the gospel lived through you. Biblical meditation is a more thorough and far-reaching self-inquiry than meditation of any other kind. This practice is a means for the Christian to assess himself, but also a provision for discussing with others just how the Bible informs the reality of the world. 

The Christian worldview is distinctly hopeful. God’s word reveals mercy and hope to a lost and hurting world. We who meditate on the sovereign grace of God revealed to us in His word know how the story ends. The Christian worldview is shaped by an outside standard, a future hope, and a spiritual grace that clashes for God’s glory and for our good. No matter if it comes to cultural affairs, economics, political ideologies, or current issues of any sort, we are distinguished by the hope we have in the gospel. If we believe God’s word, then we must be a people who bring hope to others with hopeless views of the world. When we clash, may it be for God’s glory. 

[1]John Ball, A Treatise of Divine Meditation (London: H. Matlock, 1660), 3-4.

[2]Jerry L. Sumney, Colossians, New Testament Library (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2008), 175.