Holiness

Some years ago there was a very sad situation in a basketball team. Before one game, three players from the Minnesota University team had been tried in court for raping a girl.

They were the three best players: WILLIAM (19 years old, 6' 9" tall), LEE (21 years old, 6' 9") and SMITH (21 years old, 6' 7"). The university expelled the three and went to the game with all the reserves - and two football players.

And they won the match! They realised that it is essential to maintain high standards of conduct, and take that to its ultimate consequences, no matter who is involved.

Holiness is spoken about a lot, sometimes in a negative way: do not do this, nor that, nor the other, and when we think of someone "holy" we shiver. We imagine someone sad and boring who does not want to get together with anyone else.

God does not see things that way at all. When he speaks about holiness, he does it in terms of a clean life because he himself is the best example of holiness. And to say that God is boring, seeing all that he has done in the universe, is completely without meaning.

To be holy is to be like God himself. Although that is impossible, we know that the higher the goal is, the more effort we put into it.

Holiness means to consistently have clean behaviour, a clean life. What is our life like? Is it clean, or do we have sin in it?

1. There are KNOWN sins in us. Sins that we, God and others know. They are those typical sins that say "I am like this and nobody will change me". They are sins that we justify, that we think are not important. Sins that destroy us.

2. There are UNKNOWN sins, that we do not know about but others may see them. Perhaps a bit of pride or vanity. A lie once in a while. We think we are really good, but others see us how we really are.

3. There are HIDDEN sins, sins that we do not know about, and that others do not see either, but that God surely knows. The psalmist said: "Free me from my hidden sins." These are the fruit of our nature and can cause a great deal of harm.

4. There are SECRET sins; only God and we know of them. Nobody else knows them, not even our family. A bad habit. Bad thoughts. Secret sins. Sins that hinder our relationship with God. Sins that are clearly known in heaven.

Is there sin in our life? If there is, our holiness is only a facade. We need to come before God urgently, confess our sin and abandon it. We need to eliminate everything that hinders our purity. No matter the cost.