HOLINESS DOESN'T HAVE A HAIRSTYLE

The Danger Of Turning A Good Thing Into A Moral Thing

I read the article above this morning and thought it spoke directly to feelings I have been having lately. So often in this pursuit of holiness we can find ourselves searching after outward appearances of what we think holiness should look like, after all, have we ever really seen what real holiness looks like outside of the image we have in our minds of Messiah? I haven't. I have never seen truly holy parents, truly holy women, wives, men, husbands, children, pastors, teachers, etc. Or have I seen truly holy people but they didn't fit my idea of what holiness was supposed to look like, and therefore I judged them?

I think there is a fine line of distinction there that needs to be drawn. I am sure I have met truly holy people but in my own faulty perception of holiness, I judged them based on that perception and not that of a scriptural basis for what "holiness" is (And by judge I mean "make assumptions" not "condemn"). I think often in this pursuit we form opinions and ideas about what it means to be holy. We think that holiness is abstaining from entertainment, alcohol, sports, secular music, etc., and it is also a particular way of dressing, wearing our hair, wearing head-coverings, having make-up-less faces, unadorned with jewelry, or even how many biblical studies one completes in a week and what particular words one uses in referring to the Creator and His Son. None of those things are a sin. There are however, boundaries with each of those examples that a person who is pursuing holiness needs to live within.

As believers, we are to dress in a modest manner, but does that mean skirts all the time? Whose rule is that? Yours or the Father's?

Likewise, as women we are to be aware of how our body might tempt men into sexually immoral thoughts, but does that mean we are required to wear head-coverings or to not wear a lick of make-up? Whose rules are those? Yours or the Father's?

When it comes to television, movies, music, and the like, are we to abstain completely from these things? Should we only listen to "Christian" music or watch only movies about the Amish, or movies put out by Christian producers? Is all television bad and therefore immoral? Whose rules are those? Yours or the Father's?

If I read my bible twice a day and have devotional time with my husband every evening before bed and my children are in their bibles multiple times a day, does this mean we are doing it right? Have we attained that mark of holiness? Whose rules are these? Yours or the Father's?

I hope you get my point. While there are indeed boundaries we use when deciding things like this, we use our own discretion based on principle but that does not mean they are necessarily commandments. In our family, we allow movies with realistic war-like violence, because it's real. It happens in the world. We have a history and we do not shelter them from that. We have seen movies where Jews by the thousands have been beaten, starved, and then gassed and subsequently burned. For us, this is not something we need to abstain from. For some, it is. I do not judge those that abstain from all forms of violence, be it real or fictional. I expect that you would not concern yourself with the discretion we have chosen to use in our family, and that you would not condemn us for that discretion, even if it doesn't match yours.

When we start placing rules on other people and ourselves that are not commandments from YHVH, we start putting ourselves back under a man-made legality and we then start to become self-righteous. There is nothing worse than a self-righteous spirit. It condemns others, places heavy burdens on the person and those around them, and ultimately does nothing but build up pride and the spirit of division. And believe me, even when a word is not spoken, that condemning, self-righteous, legalistic spirit can be felt and it sucks the joy from a person. I am walking in liberty because of Messiah, don't place burdens on me that were not placed there by YHVH Himself. There is freedom here. I am bound by the Laws of my Father, and they are freedom. Freedom to learn, freedom to grow, and freedom to walk this walk that no one else but me will be held accountable for. If I want to pop in a little Bob Marley, who speaks of love, mercy, kindness, and joy, what is the problem? There is none.

There is a line to be drawn between the sacred and the profane, but for me to give you that line that we use for our family and to say that anything to the right or left of that line is then immoral, is wrong and does, just as the article above says, place guilt on a person and creates shame. Are we walking with the Father or are we not? If we are, and we know our friends are as well, then each should be subject to the authority above them and the Spirit within them that convicts them of sin. Placing our ideals on others, even if it is only done in thought, creates division and sets standards for people that the Father never placed on them, and if He intends to place those standards on me, I assure you He will.

Walk your walk. Mind your own business. Do not judge others according to your own convictions regarding what is right or wrong for you based on your own judgments and your own walk with the Father. Don't even think the thoughts in regard to those judgments and how others might be walking. It will lead you into a dark pit of seclusion and self-righteousness.

I will follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in my life. I will follow the commandments of YHVH. I will walk in love, minding my own business, and attending to my own family. Father forgive me if thoughts arise in me, and a spirit of self-righteous condemnation takes hold. Help me to recognize it, battle it, and overcome it. I do not wish to walk in the same sins over and over again in a continual battle. I want to overcome. I want to have joy. Help me to see the eternal and not the temporal.

Walk in a pursuit of holiness, people. But, know that each of us has our own walk. Trust YHVH, that He is the one that is control of man's life, and not us. Thank you, Father!

Now go and walk in joy!

My daughter...she's the epitome of this post. She loves her dork glasses, loves her braided hair, T-shirts and converse sneakers, and she has the biggest servants heart of any child I have ever known. She is always there to help when help is needed. She never complains about the work she has to do. She loves people, even if they are not walking in a right manner. She walks, at a distance, with her worldly "friends" and shows them who God is, sends them encouraging words when all around them is hate, fear, and emptiness. She is a light that shines in the darkness. You could judge her by her appearance, but you'd never get to see her heart.

*disclaimer~ I am not talking about disobeying the direct commands of the Father and that we are to ignore that in our friends and family, but even then, trust that if they are in a pursuit of truth and holiness, that the Father will deal with them accordingly. Love them on their journey. Now, one who is in rebellion...that is a different story.