Living Right Side Up in an Upside Down World
Bob Yandian
When everything around you is confused and chaotic, the Word of God will reorient you so you can see clearly and walk straight—no matter what’s going on.
The world can’t turn you upside down and keep you there if you come back to the Word. The Word is like a life vest. You might feel like you are going under but strap the Word on and—no matter how hard the world tries to push you down—when it lets go you will pop right back to the top. Wrap your children in the Word and they will float when the culture tries to drown them.
Upside-Down Advice vs. Right-Side-Up Truth
Look at the counsel our world gives today: “Have premarital sex so you’ll be ‘ready’ for marriage.” “Marriage is just a piece of paper.” “Live together—if it doesn’t work, split—no strings attached.” “Divorce is easy—$69.95 if it’s uncontested.”
God’s wisdom says the opposite. Nobody wants to marry someone who has “practiced” intimacy with a lineup of partners, so they will be a “sex athlete” on the wedding night. God designed sex to be a covenant celebration, not a tryout. In marriage, you learn together. You make mistakes, laugh at yourselves, and get better—together. Sex isn’t the foundation of marriage; it’s the appreciator of everything else—friendship, loyalty, forgiveness, shared purpose, and the Holy Spirit’s joy.
Yes, a marriage license is a piece of paper—but it represents a vow. That signature says, “As long as we both live, I am committed to you.” Commitment gives you the stamina to work through the hard days and the humility to say, “I was wrong. Let’s fix this.”
The world says, “Sample many partners so you will recognize the right one.” No—that fogs your mind and hardens your heart. God says, “Keep yourself for one, then give yourself to one,” and your heart stays tender and clear. The world calls porn “education.” God calls it distortion. It trains the eyes to look without love, and it trains the heart to use without serving.
Scripture and the Spirit
Years ago an Air Force pilot in the Southwest got disoriented in a cloud bank. Flying low and fast, she looked away from her instruments. The tower told her, “Eyes on the instruments!” Disoriented, she felt right side up when she was upside down. She pulled the stick to climb—but because she was inverted, she dove and crashed.
Your instruments are the Word of God and the leading of the Holy Spirit. Your feelings can lie to you. Your crowd can lie to you. Your news feed can lie to you. The Word never lies. Keep your eyes on the instruments. If you have been flying upside down, the Word will reorient you. You may feel like you are swimming upstream while the world races the other way. You are—and that’s fine. They’re headed for a waterfall. You are headed for life.
Isaiah’s Warning and Paul’s World
Over five hundred years before Jesus, Isaiah warned of a day when moral direction would invert: “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light and light for darkness; bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter” (Isaiah 5:20). That is our present day. Politics, entertainment, education—upside down. They praise what God calls sin and mock what God calls holy.
When Paul came to Ephesus and Thessalonica, the crowds said, “Those who have turned the world upside down have come here also” (Acts 17:6). No, Paul was turning things right side up. When you are hanging by your feet, a right-side-up person looks upside down to you. The closer we get to Jesus’ return, the more global this inversion becomes. The tribulation will be an all-nations upside-down season—but even now, the Word can keep you standing straight.
God also warned about courts and culture: “Woe to those who acquit the guilty for a bribe and deprive the innocent of justice” (Isaiah 5:23). “He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just—both are an abomination to the Lord” (Proverbs 17:15). That’s the news cycle: elevate the wicked as misunderstood; prosecute the righteous as intolerant. Upside down.
Why Evolution Doesn’t Fit Reality
The world preaches evolution: “Given time, things improve.” Really? Leave anything alone and it decays. Buy a brand-new Toyota, park it in a field for thirty years, and see if it turns into a Mercedes. The paint peels, the metal rusts, and weeds grow through the floorboard. Entropy—not improvement—governs fallen creation. Daniel saw it in Nebuchadnezzar’s statue: gold head, silver chest, bronze belly, iron legs, then iron mixed with clay—decline from top to bottom (Daniel 2). Empires don’t evolve upward; they corrode downward.
But your life doesn’t have to corrode with the culture. Maintenance matters. Keep to biblical core values, and while the world crumbles, your house stands. Jesus called it building on the rock.
Right-Side-Up Homes in an Upside-Down Age
Whether you homeschool, choose Christian education, or stay in public schools—parental discipleship is non-negotiable. Deuteronomy tells parents to teach when kids rise, walk, sit, and lie down. Make the Word the most normal conversation in your home. Don’t isolate your kids from the world—insulate them with truth.
“There is a generation who curses their father and does not bless their mother; a generation pure in their own eyes yet not washed from their filthiness; a generation—oh, how lofty are their eyes, and their eyelids are lifted up; a generation whose teeth are swords… to devour the poor from off the earth.” (Proverbs 30:11–14)
Paul echoed it in 2 Timothy 3:2, “In the last days men will be lovers of themselves.” Self-centeredness is the root of every sin. This is Lucifer’s “I will” syndrome. Our culture canonizes self as god—and one day a man of sin will promise the world everything it wants and enthrone himself as god. Until then, little “self-thrones” sprout on every street corner. Jesus dethrones self and enthrones love.
How to Walk Right Side Up
Plant your feet in Scripture. Psalm 119:89 says, “Forever, O Lord, Your Word is settled in heaven.” Settled in heaven, so settle it in your heart. Make the Word your first voice every day. Lean into the local church. You are not called to survive alone. Worship stabilizes your heart. Fellowship sharpens your conscience. Teaching anchors your mind. Service keeps you outward facing in a selfie world. Honor the marriage covenant. Treat that piece of paper like a vow before God. Work through conflict, repent quickly, forgive freely. Make covenant love your normal, not cancellation.
Disciple your children daily. Short, consistent moments beat rare, long speeches. Tie Scripture to normal life—meals, chores, homework, car rides. Celebrate obedience. Correct with hope.
Guard your eyes. Porn is not education; it’s erosion. Turn from it and fill your eyes with the Word. You become what you behold.
Tell the truth in love. The world lies in anger; believers speak truth in love. A soft answer turns away wrath. Don’t be mean to be right. Be Christlike to be effective.
Expect to swim upstream. Stop waiting for the river to change direction. Strap on your life vest—the Word—and keep stroking. Joy is upstream.
Stability: Joy That Doesn’t Need Permission
People will ask, “How are you joyful with everything going wrong?” Because my joy doesn’t come from the world. It comes from the Holy Spirit and the Word. The world offers moments of excitement followed by emptiness. Jesus offers joy unspeakable and full of glory—a steady, buoyant, right-side-up joy. God made life to be enjoyed—including marriage. Enjoy discovering each other, not auditioning others. Enjoy building a home, not curating an image. Enjoy serving Jesus together, not negotiating terms with the world.
When You’ve Been Flying Upside Down
Maybe you’ve been disoriented—living by feelings, friends, feeds. You’ve pulled hard to “go up,” and the ground came fast. Good news: the instruments still work. The cross still saves. The Spirit still leads. Turn your eyes back to the Word.
If you don’t know Jesus, pray, “Father, I’ve made a mess trying to fly by feeling. I believe Your Son Jesus died for me and rose again. I receive Him as my Lord and Savior. Reorient my life by Your Word and Spirit. Amen.” If you are a believer who has drifted, pray, “Lord, forgive my upside-down habits. I put my eyes back on Your Word. Lead me by Your Spirit. Re-teach my hands to fly. Amen.”
Right-Side-Up Thinking About “The World”
The Bible says we are in the world but not of it. Our job isn’t to fix the world system—that’s Jesus’ job when He returns. Our job is to win people out of the world into the church by preaching the gospel and living right-side-up lives that make people hungry for the truth. Don’t let entertainment catechize you into confusion. Don’t let politics become your pastor. Let Scripture disciple your thinking and the Spirit direct your steps.
Jesus said, “When you see these things begin to come to pass, look up, lift up your heads; your redemption draws near.” The world talks “new world order.” The Bible talks new heavens and new earth. The world promises progress and delivers decay. Jesus promises return and will deliver renewal. Until that day, keep your eyes on the instruments. Keep your hands on the yoke. Keep your heart in the Word. And keep your home, your marriage, and your children right side up in an upside-down age.
Be the One Who Turns Things Right Side Up
Let Acts 17:6 be said about you— “Those who turn the world upside down have come here also.” In truth, you are turning it right side up by the power of the Word. On your street, in your office, at your school, in your home—be the steady, Scripture-anchored, Spirit-led witness who lives right side up.
