"From Spurgeon's Morning and Evening Devotional: “Let the dignity of your nature, and the brightness of your prospects, O believers in Christ, constrain you to cleave unto holiness, and to avoid the very appearance of evil.” A good exhortation to believers! Cleave to holiness and avoid the very appearance of evil. I like how the Bible puts it in 1 Thessalonians 5 saying to avoid even the appearance or hint of evil. We would have a much holier life and a better witness if we did (Myself included)."
The world is waiting for uncompromised Christians to stand up for their beliefs. People respect someone who will hold to their standards. If anyone should have a standard it should be a Christian. Our law is love and the Word of God.
If we hint at worldliness we won't be a witness nor will we steer clear of the traps of sin. I heard and old saying that if you play near the mud hole you will eventually fall in. It is true. Many people try to live life as close to the edge as they can.
Please don't get me wrong. I am not talking about extreme legalism. We still live here on earth. I own a television, watch movies and listen to music. That is not the issue. What I am talking about is our choices. We can choose what we watch and hear. We can choose to give an appearance of evil or of holiness.
In our day and age social media has amplified this concept. Never before have our lives been more transparent or scrutinized. Think about it for a moment. I can go online right now and find out what my friends and family wore today, ate for lunch and what they did with their free time. With that kind of publicity it is no wonder people don't see us as any different than the world. We are watching the same shows and movies, listening to the same music and even having the same attitudes as the rest of the world. To be holy means that our lives are exclusive to God. That means there should be a marked difference in our activity.
Maybe it is time to take inventory and do some heart searching. Ask a coworker how they view you or read your own social media posts from the perspective of someone who doesn't know you and isn't saved. What appearances are you giving? If it isn't one of holiness then it is time to make some changes.
How can we be holy without alienating others? Is there a balance or mature way to handle standards of being a Christian in the world?
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