Every Thought Captive

​Puzzle Pieces and Movie Scripts

Everyone has a worldview. It may be well thought-out, logical and coherent, or it may be loosely thrown together and disorganized, but everyone has one. Quite simply, a worldview is your philosophy or view of life, a way of looking at the world around you.

Think of the cover of a puzzle box. If you were to dump all the puzzle pieces on the ground without seeing what the picture on the cover looked like, you would have a pretty hard time putting the puzzle together. Similarly, life presents us with thousands of questions and issues which are like pieces to a puzzle. Without the right worldview to follow, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to know where and how all the pieces fit.

Or, think of a worldview as a movie script. The late Francis Schaeffer said that life is like entering a very long movie that has already started and then learning you have to leave before it ends. In such a situation we would be significantly lost without some outside help. Schaeffer suggested that the Bible gives us the script of the whole movie. Therefore, even if we’ve missed the first part of it, and even though we’ll have to leave before it’s over, we can still see how we fit into the big picture. A Christian worldview is essential because it will be the view of life that most closely corresponds to reality.

Elements of a Worldview

What are the key components that comprise a person’s worldview? Let me briefly mention five of the most important elements that shape our view of life.

1.) The first aspect of a worldview is your view of God: Does God exist? Is God personal or impersonal? Is there only one God or many? Does God require anything from us? What is the nature of God? It has been rightly observed that a person’s answers to these questions will be the greatest influence on the way a person thinks and lives.

2.) Second, a worldview focuses on the issues of purpose, value, and ultimate questions, such as: Are miracles possible? Is the universe all there is? What is the purpose of our existence? Why does something exist rather than nothing? Is there objective meaning to life?

3.) The third area a worldview addresses is the question of knowledge. It seeks to answer how we know what we know. What is the authority upon which a person should base their claim to truth or morality? Is each person the measure for right and wrong or is there an objective standard? We live each day according to the way we view knowledge, whether we recognize it or not.

4.) Fourth is the issue of ethics. How do you make moral decisions? Are you bound by what God has revealed or by cultural convention or laws? Are some acts really wrong or merely inconvenient?

5.) The last major element of a worldview has to do with the nature of humankind. How do you view human beings? Are we basically good? Are we basically sinful? Is there such a thing as sin? Are we grown-up germs caused by evolution or do we have real purpose and design? What happens when we die?

These are the significant elements which make up one’s worldview, and again, we all have a worldview whether or not we’re conscious of it.

So What?

A Christian ought to prayerfully and intentionally put together a biblical world and life view. To live a life of love for God and neighbor will require a life that is lived faithfully according to that worldview. Furthermore, those of us who are parents will want to pass that view of life on to our children, and those who disciple others will want to help them develop it as well.

I once read that a worldview is as “practical as potatoes.” Far from being purely an academic or philosophical pursuit, our view of life has a “real life” shaping effect. Only as we interpret the world around us through the lens of a Christian worldview will we be better able to see how we ought to live and bear a faithful witness to it. Writer George Barna has written for years on the sad news that there is virtually no difference between Christians and unbelievers in what they believe and how they live their lives. The one exception, he notes, are those believers who consciously hold a biblical worldview. Do you hold such a worldview?

The Apostle Paul wrote, “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5)

Now, I want to be clear about something: Christians who are committed to a biblical worldview will not agree on every particular. We will differ on matters of interpretation, application, and emphasis. Some of these differences are minor; others touch on significant theological or practical questions. That’s to be expected in a diverse body of believers seeking to faithfully follow Christ across different times, cultures, and contexts.

But here’s what we shouldn’t do: we shouldn’t pretend that having a worldview doesn’t matter, or that one worldview is as good as another, or that our faith can remain privatized and disconnected from the rest of our lives. The call to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength demands that we think Christianly about all of life. We may debate the particulars, and we should do so with charity and humility, but we must not abandon the task itself. A life lived for Christ requires a mind submitted to Christ. The question isn’t whether you’ll have a worldview - you already do. The question is whether that worldview will be shaped by the Word of God or by the spirit of the age.

Walking Points

• Have you ever thought thoroughly about what you believe as a Christian and how it plays out in your daily life?

• Of the five elements of a biblical worldview, which one are you most familiar with? Least familiar with?
• Talk with one or two Christians this week about the five key elements of a worldview to discover more about how you view life.

• Then, pray about getting together regularly with these brothers and sisters in Christ so you may grow in your understanding and application of God’s Word, for it really does apply to every sphere of life.

Prayer

All-wise and all-knowing God, you are the Lord of Heaven and earth. Nothing truly makes sense apart from you. Forgive me when I try to live in your world as though you don’t exist. Whether it’s the way I view the universe and my place in it, the moral decisions I make every day, my values that I pass on to others, how I understand where I came from, why I’m here, and where I’m going after death, please help me have your true and eternal perspective on all such matters and not that of the world around me. Let my thinking, speaking, and living be radically out of step with the prevailing culture that surrounds me, but give me greater love for those who are a part of it, so I may reach them with the grace and truth of your Gospel. And Lord, I pray that the things I believe will make a genuine difference in the way I live my life, so that I may be holy, even as you are holy. In Christ’s name I pray. Amen.