Holiness is A Lifestyle

The dictionary defines holiness as being "the quality or state of being holy; sanctification; purity"

As Christians we are called to be holy. There is no way around it. Leviticus 19:2 states "You must be holy because I, the Lord Your God, am holy."

Holiness is a lifestyle, not something you just pretend to practice on Sunday mornings while in church. We should be striving to be holy 24/7, 365 days, simply because the God that we claim to love so much, is holy and we are to be a reflection of Him!!! You might be able to fool man by your outward actions, but God knows and sees your heart!!! He doesn't want our lip service but our heart service.

I used to be that "lukewarm Christian" that made sure to play Gospel music on Sundays but then during the week was bumping some of the most explicit music out there. I would go to parties and get drunk with my friends just because it was something to do. It's what the world said I was supposed to do. I was young and carefree (or so I thought). I'm sure most of you have heard the term Y.O.L.O. (You Only Live Once), which quickly became my motto. Many times, I couldn't even make it to church on Sundays because I was too tired from the night before.  I prayed because that's what I was taught to do as a child not because I had a true respect or love for God. He was just my genie in a bottle that I called upon whenever I was in need. I look back on those years when I proclaimed to be a Christian but my actions said completely otherwise and think about how weak my witness for Christ was. How God could have used me to bring others into the knowledge of Him, had I not conformed to the world's standards. How I didn't really have a true relationship with Christ.

The crazy thing is that I see that happening a lot with people in my generation. These days pretty much everyone professes to be a Christian with their lips but not everyone's actions actually prove that.  The proof is in what type of fruit you are bearing. When we look like the world, talk the world, act like the world, and dress like the world, non-Christians look at us and say well if she/he's a Christian and is living how I'm living, I must be straight then, which couldn't be further from the truth. If we don't look any different than the world we give them no reason to come into relationship with Jesus Christ nor  accept God's offer of everlasting life. We are called to be ambassadors of Christ and many times we are the only Bible that people ever see. So many people don't like Christians because they think that we are all hypocrites. We have to always be aware and make sure that our actions are glorifying unto God.

Living a holy lifestyle doesn't mean that you never have fun, never laugh, never go shopping, nor go to the movies. It doesn't mean that you just sit in your house all day long doing nothing and being serious. You are still free to enjoy life and experience the wonders of God's creation within the boundaries that God has set, which are for our absolute good. You can still go out dancing with your friends but just be mindful of where you go. If you are at the club bumping and grinding to music that doesn't even come close to glorifying God you might want to check your heart and see where your true allegiance lies. Darkness and light have nothing in common. You can't sit up here and tell me that going to the club is glorifying unto God and as Christians everything we do should be done unto the glory of God. Now don't get me wrong, being a Christian isn't about following a set of rules but about following Christ. Once you truly follow Him though, you will begin to see just how many of the standards, values, and morals of the world directly offend the God that we serve.

Let's let God cleanse our hearts from all unrighteousness and strive to lead a lifestyle that is pleasing and acceptable to Him!! It may not be the "popular" thing to do or the easiest thing to do but it's a necessity if we want to hear God say "well done my good and faithful servant" at the end of our lives.



Cierra :)