God, through His Word, calls us to a high moral standard by which we should live. To Israel He repeatedly said, “Be holy for I am holy” (Leviticus 11:44). In like manner Peter urges us, “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires of your former ignorance but, as the One who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct; for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy” (1 Peter 1:14-16). We are to walk in purity of heart and lifestyle, as this sets us apart from the evil attitudes and actions characteristic of the world around us.
Why has God required this kind of life from us? Is it so we can’t have fun or enjoy the pleasures of this life? The answer, of course, is, “No,” but so we can enjoy life as it should be. Only life in Christ is truly abundant (John 10:10), as it’s within the parameters for which God designed us and means for us live. For example, I read several years ago about an individual who, at that time, was fifty years old. As a result of alcoholism, he suffered sustained memory loss. He could remember in great detail events of his life until he was twenty, but after that everything was blank. Even more tragic than that was, whenever anything happened to him, he could remember it for only a few seconds. For this person, due to his following the pattern of the world, even watching television was an impossible task as he would forget the beginning of the show before it would end. He was a man truly lost in time.
This is just one example of what living in the pleasures of sin has to offer. How many have suffered due to being addicted to drugs, the misery of existence that brings? Or how many have lost themselves and their families due to living a sexually immoral lifestyle? I know of family members separated because of words spoken in anger, and no one is willing to yield so that forgiveness and reunion can happen. Lying only brings more problems, not solutions. The broken hearts and lives that are created in the wake of sin are seemingly endless.
God calls us to His holiness and His way of life because it’s the best life to live. It doesn’t embarrass us, hurt us or ultimately destroy us. It allows us to truly enjoy this life, without it controlling or dominating us. It offers hope for eternity. Don’t be deceived by the allure of sin, because Satan is the father of lies (John 8:44) and never delivers on what he promises. Hold fast to those things that will endure for eternity. As Paul admonished, “put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22-24). To do so, and so live, means “when he appears we will be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure” (1 John 3:2-3). This is truly the life that’s worth living.
