On the way to Church Sunday, March 10, 2024 The Lord gave me a perspective on something I had not had before. The statement He spoke to me was this…”Is this what Holiness looks like?”
That little 6 word statement was a HUGE aha moment for my life.
Over the last few weeks I had been thinking about how sin has become a very ‘gray’ thing in our world. Sin seems to have married into society and it is a big blur. Not only for the world, but also the church.
People seem to be more accepting of sin and honestly tend to promote it. The moral compass of our society is broken.
Satan has swooped in and keeps speaking…”did God really say that?” (Genesis 3:1). He gets us to question the moral integrity of our being. He causes us to make excuses to embrace sin. It’s one thing for society to be wandering the planet unknowingly engaging in sinful practices. Afterall, how would they even know if they are not believers in Jesus. You really can’t hold people to a higher moral place when they have no reference for it. HOWEVER, when those who proclaim Christianity have a less than stellar moral compass…that is where I have an issue!
We as the church have muddied the lines of sin. We have jumped on the boat of our secular friends and family and embraced operating in sin. OF COURSE we don’t think we have succumbed to sin, but that is the trickery of the enemy. He causes us to lie to ourselves and believe our lies. Hey, not going to blame people too much for falling into that trap. So many entities that have authority lie and parade it around as truth.
Sin has become so blurred and even Christians have a hard time deciding if things are sin or not.
This is where the statement God gave me comes into play. “Is this what Holiness looks like?”
We can look at things and ask …”Is this a sin or not?” and honestly, sometimes I have NO idea! I know what scripture says, I see what people in authority are doing, I see how my friends and family are operating and I see and hear what is preached from the pulpit and spread on media platforms by Christian leaders….and you know what… It has all become very vague!
For example…I would think most Christians realize that gossip IS a sin; yet this very sin is entertained at most gatherings. People don’t put it in the category of sin…they put it in the category of…”I’m sharing information.” Sure, I get it, BUT now let’s measure it by the statement God gave me Sunday…”Is this what Holiness looks like?”…NOPE!
That statement has literally altered my life in a phenomenal way. It is now the lens in which I am choosing to look through.
Holiness isn’t only about being able to identify sin, it is also about identifying what is good and what is not. What is adding value and what you should walk away from.
I am going to give a few examples of what happened to me on Monday and Tuesday after The Lord shared that profound statement with me!
“Is this what Holiness looks like?”
My plan for Monday morning was to take the dog for a 3-4 mile walk before I had to leave the house for appointments. Well, I decided to sleep a bit later than my alarm and by the time I was functioning there really wasn’t time left to go for that walk before I needed to leave the house. I then thought, ‘I’ll take him for a walk in the afternoon when I get back’. How often have we done that? Said we’ll do something ‘later’ and then later comes and goes and we still didn’t follow through?
So…I asked myself this; “Is this what Holiness looks like?”…NOPE! Holiness looks like following through on your plans and commitments to yourself.
Since I had run out of time to do the ‘walk’, I then took 10 steps out of our bedroom into our weight room, turned on some worship music and boxed, lifted some weights and did some other exercises. As I was doing that I asked myself …”Is this what Holiness looks like?”…YES! I didn’t do my original plan, but I replaced it with something that was still adding value. (…and the dog did get his walk in the afternoon😊)
Later that day I had eaten a meal and then decided I also wanted a bowl of cereal as ‘dessert’. I asked myself…”Is this what Holiness looks like?” The answer was NOPE!…and you know what? I didn’t care…I ate the cereal anyway. I think it’s important to understand that we knowingly do things that aren’t adding value or aren’t the right choice for us at the time. When we can OWN our shortcomings, we are acknowledging that we are responsible for our choices, even the not ‘healthy’ choices. Being able to acknowledge when we make poor choices is actually a very healthy thing to be able to do!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I have now addressed 3 responses to “Is this what Holiness looks like?”.
1) YES
2) NO
3) I don’t care if it is or not
There is also a 4th response…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I had an ‘incident’ that happened on Tuesday that caused me to go into SURVIVAL MODE. I couldn’t think straight, and I was scrambling to accommodate the incident with the least amount of damage as possible. After the incident was over, I walked away leaving behind some things. On my way home the phrase came to me…”Is this what Holiness looks like?”…NOPE…I should have done things differently after the fact.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The 4th response to “Is this what Holiness looks like?” is this…
“I am in survival mode and incapable of making that decision now.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That phrase really hit me. I think this is a BIG deal. So many people are operating in survival mode that they are incapable of making decisions…let alone differentiating if something is holy or not. Our society seems to be in a perpetual ‘survival mode’. So many are struggling with mental health, finances, relationships, health, and countless other things. When a person is in survival mode, they are not their true selves. They cannot function rationally. Many people camouflage this well and we think they are ‘fine’, but reality is that they are in ‘survival mode’.
The lens I am choosing to operate from now is from the perspective of “Is this what Holiness looks like?” Equally, I have gained great perspective in understanding that when people are in survival mode, they can’t make a decision on if what they are doing is holy or not. Honestly, they have a really hard time making productive decisions.
So, perhaps when we see behavior that is counterproductive, we shouldn’t jump to the conclusion that people are sinful or not holy or innately ‘bad’. Maybe it would be wiser to understand many are in survival mode. How do we help people in survival mode? I’m not sure of that answer yet, but I am certain that no one wants to operate in survival mode and people are really good at hiding that they are in survival mode. Another reminder to be kind; we really don’t know the whole story of the ‘why’.
Actions speak so much louder than words can ever convey.
I’m hopeful anyone who reads this will gain some perspective and choose to the best of their ability to live life through the lens of…”Is this what Holiness looks like?”. That lens has helped me greatly in just a few days from when The Lord shared it. I’m hopeful this insight will also help you to live life well!
As a Christain I am on a constant journey of sanctification. It is not an easy journey, but it is a journey that is far more rewarding than not pursuing it. ”Is this what Holiness looks like?” is now my lens to help me on the journey.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here are 3 Bible verses God directed me to on this journey of looking through the lens of “Is this what Holiness looks like?”:
1 Peter 1:15-16 ~ But like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written: “You shall be Holy, for I Am Holy.”
2 Corinthians 7:1 ~ Therefore, my dear friends, since we have these promises, let us purify ourselves from everything that can defile either body or spirit, and strive to be completely holy, out of reverence for God.
2 Timothy 1:9 ~ Since he delivered us and called us to a life of holiness as his people. It was not because of our deeds, but because of his own purpose and the grace which he gave to us who are united with God.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Is this what HOLINESS looks like?
Yes – No – I don’t care if it is or not – I’m in survival mode and incapable to make that decision now
Holiness: The state or quality of being holy, perfect moral integrity or purity; freedom from sin; sanctity; innocence.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~