Men and Women of Our Times?

I recently read http://danielsilliman.blogspot.de/2014/02/if-i-did-not-believe-god-loved-blackest.html, an article about racism among Pentecostals of a century ago. It gives a little general history of the Pentecostal movement, and of several notable men in its history. Particularly, it mentions a several men who affirmed the racial separation that was the norm of that era; not all were white.

Many years ago, now, I read an excellent biography of Martin Luther. Along with his accomplishments, it noted that, late in life, he also wrote and published some very ugly things about Jewish people. This was, at the time, new to me. I was raised in a Lutheran church, and his antisemitic writings were not taught. They might have remained ugly historical curiosities, but 4 centuries later, Adolph Hitler and other anti-Semites cited Luther's writings to bolster their credibility.

In both cases, it could, accurately, be said that they – Luther and racists/racialists among early Pentecostals – were “men of their times”. The writer of the article I linked above noted this idea … but went used over half of his article to give the histories of two white Pentecostal leaders who were not “men of their times”. They rose above their times, and they paid a price for it (not only with whites, BTW). One can only wonder what might have been – for them personally, the Pentecostal movement, and for the US – had many more Pentecostal leaders similarly and righteously refused to be “men of their times”.

I think this is the kind of thing Jesus had in mind when He prayed that believers not be “of the world”! Many Christians worry about and expend energy pointing out worldlinesses such as fashionable clothes, cosmetics, dancing, expensive cars and homes, music, gadgets, and such – and there certainly is room for concern. But aren't the compromises of being “men of their times” when the views and doings of “the times” are unrighteous far more “worldly” than the brand of clothing one wears or the the model of car one drives? Tossing out one's cosmetics or music collection is easy and cheap, not requiring any change of heart or loss of friends and social standing.

Now ... forget, for a moment, about the sins of men and women of the past. Don't point fingers at others' sins. Have the courage and faith to look in a mirror. Where do we (I!) now compromise with our society and culture over what God has said is right?