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Holiness?

Greetings!! Once again, let me apologize for my unreasonably lengthy silence. The journey I have been on over the past year (almost) has been quite a ride. I will fill you all in with the coming posts....until then, yes, I have something to say.

In a word: Holiness.

For years, I thought of holiness as a type of appearance, a pattern of speech, and an act of deprivation. In order to dress holy, a woman's hemline should sweep the floor and her arms must be covered to the wrist and her chest covered to her chin. She could not be overly adorned and makeup was a complete no-no. (If any of you have seen me, you will know that I no longer believe this). Also, I thought that holiness meant that one should invoke the name of God once every 150 words or so, just to be on the safe side. And I also thought that holiness meant that you didn't have fun. No laughing, no spending time with friends or family unless it was to study the Word and sing hymns.

Mind you, I was taught none of this by my parents or by the Word of God itself. This is what I observed of others and internalized.

But that is NOT holiness.

Yes, if a person is living holy s/he might dress more modestly and might often speak about the things of God and might choose not to go to certain functions or watch certain programs, but holiness is not formulaic. I know many people who adhere to everything I have just described above and are terrifyingly unholy in their hearts.

Holiness is a process. It is a constant action.

Here is a shocking truth: holiness (true holiness, the standard which our holy God demands) is unattainable with our human efforts. It is not something that we can achieve by following simple steps.

On the contrary, holiness requires an inconvenience that many are hesitant to embrace. Holiness requires constant self examination. The Apostle Paul said that he had to buffet his body daily to bring it under subjection (1 Corinthians 9:27).

What does that mean? It means that he was always taking stock of himself. Not just outwardly, but inwardly. And not just with earthly eyes. He lined himself up with the Word through the power and strength of the Holy Spirit.

And we must do the same.

Does our attire line up with the Word of God? This is not just about the hemline, but are we dressing for attention? Even if it is modest? Do we spend more time preparing an outfit for church services than we do preparing our hearts to receive from the Lord in corporate worship? Are our clothes so expensive that we make others feel inferior with our presence?

Does our speech line up with scripture? This is not just about refusing to use foul language or tell dirty jokes. This is also not about uttering the name of the Lord every so often. But is our speech pleasing to God? To our words edify people or do they tear them down?

Do we seek to please God with out actions and inactions or do we just want to oppress others with our outward demonstrations of "christianity"?

Our Lord Jesus had a name for the Pharisees that portrayed holiness, but were inwardly anything but holy. He called them "white-washed sepulchres." They looked great on the outside, but inside they were full of "dead men's bones."

The bottom line is this, looking and acting holy is not the same as being holy. Let us endeavour to take the inconvenient path of true holiness.

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