Holiness Is Not An Option

“For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.”  I Thessalonians 4:7

Webster’s Dictionary defines the word “integrity” as the quality or state of being of sound moral principle; uprightness, honesty, and sincerity.  We are not born with integrity.  Quite the contrary, we are born with a sinful nature and without discipline and proper examples to follow, we cannot live up to the potential of a person who is known for their honesty, dependability, and morality.

In conversations with folks that I have had in past seasons, it seems that many agree that people do not have the same compassion and concern for one another like we remember from years gone by.  Today it’s all about the “me” generation, what’s it to me, what’s in it for me, and, of course,  we mustn’t leave out the entitlement mentality that has taken on a life of its own among so many.  People are so busy with their own lives that that they don’t take any time for others.  I am speaking in general terms, for there are still some folks who do care about others, who care that their own lives are a testimony of how Christ has made a huge impact in their behavior, and how they do attempt to put others first before their own needs and wants.

There certainly has been a drastic decline in morals, too.  Things that I never thought that I would see on TV are broadcast on a daily basis.  The more immorality and violence that is shown, the more people become immune to it.  The threshold for acceptance of ungodly behavior, vulgarity, and outright sin has been lowered to such an extent that it hardly makes folks upset, angry, or even uncomfortable.  It has been said that if the media presents immorality in a way that makes people laugh, then it becomes more acceptable.  Once it become acceptable, then it is encouraged.  Hearing God’s name taken in vain on TV has become so commonplace that many people do not even notice it.  I am sure that God notices it.  He said in His third commandment that He will not hold anyone who takes His name in vain guiltless (Exodus 20:7).

The Apostle Paul wrote that God did not call His people unto uncleanness but unto holiness.  As an individual, to be holy is to strive to separate oneself from what is sinful and determine to live like Christ.  After all, a Christian is to be Christlike in behavior, thoughts, actions, and words.  We live in a fallen world where sin reigns, but we, through the power of Christ, can keep sin from reigning in our individual lives.  In a world where immorality runs rampant, it takes a close walk with the Lord to keep on the straight and narrow.  Jesus said in Matthew 7:13-14 for us to enter into the straight gate because the wide gate, the one seemingly easier to travel through is the path to destruction, but “straight is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leads unto life, and few there be that find it”.  It is truly a sobering thought to think that so many folks are living in selfish pursuit of their own sinful desires while so few are seeking holy lives.  When God said, “Be ye holy, for I AM holy” (I Peter 1:16; Leviticus 11:44), that wasn’t a suggestion.