I was reading Colossians 2v20-23 the other day and it made me think.

I remember when I first went to the UK from New Zealand, there were some things that Christians commonly did there that seemed wrong to me. Also, when I visited Christian churches in other countries, for instance in Asia, it seemed 'ungodly' how non 'New Zealand' their worship was.

I remember thinking that this may have been how some early missionaries felt when coming across new people groups and why they tried to 'civilise' them.

How much of my own Christianity is based upon my own culture, my own tradition, my own beliefs about what is right and wrong? And how much of my Christianity is based upon God's truth? And for that matter, how much of what we are taught as Christians comes from God and how much comes from the influences of the culture we are living in?

I think that some of the things we honestly and truly believe are godly and biblical have actually come from our culture and the only reason that we don't see this is that we don't think to question what we unquestionably see as right.

So what do we do? Where do we start? It's interesting to note, in this passage, that it speaks of such things having the "appearance of wisdom", and we read elsewhere in the Bible about the "wisdom of this world". It also appears that since I have died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, I should not still be submitting to its rules.

I guess I need to spend more time with Jesus, and try to become more like him, for without his constant influence over my life, I have little choice but to follow those things that appear wise based upon the evidence presented by the culture I live in.

Hayden Andrews