Christ followers are called to be agents of change within their own cultures. In regard to redemptive things within their culture, Christ followers celebrate and encourage those things. As for unredemptive things, followers of Jesus seek to expose and turn from those. The difficulty is identifying what is an unredemptive attitude or practice or expectation when these things are viewed as "perfectly normal" -- even "admirable" -- by the larger culture.

In our own culture, many of those unredemptive attitudes and values begin with "I": "I'll do what I please"; "I have to control things"; "I have to look out for me"; "I am boss of me and submit to no one"; "I don't care about other people"; "I deserve to be happy". "I want to be rich."

Being exposed day in and day out to these unredemptive values allows them to get lodged in our hearts. With them comes unholy and sinful fruit. In his darkest hour, after his failure with Bathsheba, King David repented and said, "You God desire truth in my innermost being, and in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom." The PrIorities series seeks to address unredemptive cultural values that, in our "hidden part," keep us from fully enjoying following Jesus. In the place of these unredemptive values, we hope to articulate and apply a Biblical value that fulfills and brings joy to our "innermost being." Our hope is that the Biblical value takes the place of the unredmptive one we have known and practiced.