but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy." ( 1 Peter 1.15, 16 ESV )

Often in my thoughts I turn frequently to this aspect of the Christian life -- the pursuit of holiness. One could argue that the pursuit of holiness is what separates God's people from everyone else. In this we are not merely talking about morality as much as we are talking about holiness. Certainly morality is contained within any pursuit of holiness but a true pursuit of holiness is far beyond a morally sound life. Within any of these kinds of conversations I find people using terms like "legalism" and the like to somehow excuse our escape of a true pursuit of holiness. For me, this is a topic that I find difficult to talk about and even harder to write about. The danger of legalism does indeed exist but I wonder, first of all, about the distinctions that should characterize any Christian since we are called to be in a rabid pursuit of holiness.

Why do people cry legalism whenever this topic comes up? Perhaps you are not one of those people that think in these terms but I think you are in the minority. Inevitably, when we talk about a pursuit of holiness we end up discussing issues of what we watch on TV; what movies we choose to watch; what music we allow to fill our minds, etc. These are dangerous topics for some and, usually, the one who raises the alarm over these kinds of things ends up getting labeled as a "legalist". I do not think I am a legalist but I do think we have moved too far to the left on some of these areas, especially as they pertain to God's people.

Certainly the aspect of holy living must first reside in the heart of the one who really wants to pursue it. Yet, God's people are called to live a holy life and often the struggle comes when we consider what that actually looks like. In many ways the mind is the feeding trough of the soul and we all know that our souls are not made of titanium. Our souls are fragile and we often wander from the things that God has told us to do and we often recklessly run into things we ought not be doing. We often fixate on things that we ought not be fixating on. However, I wonder what the source of these things are? My wife has often told me that it is possible to become anesthetized by the things we allow our eyes to see and our ears to hear. Whether we want to admit it the things we fill our minds with impacts our life and our actions. They are motivators to the things we think about and the things we do. The drive of our culture is not often godly in any way yet God's people seem to be as caught up in it as those who would never broach the door of a Church. I wonder why that is -- not as I observe others but also as I observe myself.

God's word tells us to be in pursuit of godliness. Elsewhere we are told to be "holy" as God is "holy". Thus we are to act and think as God does about what we allow our minds and hearts to feed upon. Is it any wonder that we so rarely think thoughts after God's thoughts because we are filling our minds and hearts with the things that God calls "evil"? We hear lyrics in a song that are diametrically opposed to godliness. We may not be aware of the impact the music has on our hearts but the impact is there regardless. I realize the implications of what I am saying here. Some may think I am opposed to all secular music. I am not. What I am arguing for is a heart and mind that learns to filter out, discern, and reject the things that are harmful to our very souls. I have had the sad occasion to be in movies that I ought not be watching. I have had other occasions where I have looked at pictures or listened to music that God would call "evil". Why is it that Christians are so cavalier when it comes to watching two actors engage in illicit sexual contact on the silver screen on one hand yet, on the other hand, would never allow such an act to take place in their presence? Is this not a form of hypocrisy? How does this demonstrate a pursuit of holiness?

What should be said about a Christian who calls evil good and good evil? Sure, we would never say that out loud but I do think we often say it by what we watch, listen to, and read. Are we actually concerned with what God calls good and evil? Do we know the difference in a real, tangible way? If God really calls us to living a holy life we ought to come to terms with what that means because it means far more than a part-time pursuit of such things. It requires a battle of the mind and the heart and I fear we are losing this battle because we allow subtle things to fill our minds and our hearts.

Even as a drop of cyanide in a glass of water will kill you so will a small dose of the things God calls evil ( Proverbs 4.23 ESV ). Does this mean that God's people should never go to the movie theatres? No. Does this mean that God's people should never watch any movies or listen to a secular rock station on the radio? No. A pursuit of holiness requires that we get our minds and our hearts fixated on the things God calls "good" and learn to reject those things that God calls "evil". Only then will we see ourselves being conformed to the likeness of Christ that God's people are called to be.

Is this a daily struggle? Yes, to be sure. However, we do have the means given to us by God to overcome the struggle and win the battle for our minds and hearts. We are promised in the Scriptures that if we meditate on the things of God our minds and our hearts will be renewed to those things that God calls "good", (Romans 12.1-2).

Think about it!