The world is upside down from what God intended it to be, and sometimes we think this opposition is based on one culture but not others. However, the world, as the Bible reminds us, lies in wickedness (1 John 5:19). The world around may not recognize that some behavior or lifestyle is an affront to God’s Word or purpose. Same with the Israelites, when leaving Egypt, who might not have known that the whole world had the Spirit of Egypt, yet God, who was different from other gods, called them to be different: to be separate or set apart. God is separated from other gods. Usually, people create gods in their own imagination, so those gods may serve people. But the God of Israel was different; He created people so they may serve Him. You can fiddle with this world how you want, but you cannot change Him, not a bit, because He is not part of the system (cosmos)—He is set apart.
Like the children of Israel, we have a decree to serve our God by adopting His characteristics. By being separated from the world around us, we are called to be holy. God is Holy, nothing more, and He demands that we be likewise. When the children of Israel were in the wilderness, God was preparing them to be distinct from the people around them in the Promised Land; likewise, He is preparing us to be different, but our Promised Land is heaven. We are called to hate this world, the lust of the flesh, and everything in it. God uses us as a primary example to bring people to Himself, our holy lives being a testimony of how God can change us. Just as Ezekiel says that God’s holiness was supposed to be revealed through His people, likewise, we are witnesses of Yahweh to the world, ever since the Spirit descended on Pentecost.
Being holy, as I have realized, does not mean to hide from the world, but rather to be different while also being a part of it, participating in it without indulging in the things of the flesh. I do not think it is appropriate to hide from people or lock ourselves away, but to put ourselves out there, being the light of the world—a town built on a hill that cannot be hidden.
We should not put our light under a bushel, be separatist, and sit like the Essenes, cut off from the outside world. Jesus was in the world and spent time with people who were not considered to be “holy,” yet He did not indulge in the world. The people saw how He was different from their status quo. The status of the world right now is in bad shape, and what makes it worse is that people in the Church, particularly the contemporary Church, want to imitate the world rather than Christ. Yet Peter reminded the Church to be holy because God is holy. First Peter 1:15 states, “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do.” I found myself not comparing to others, but looking at my life and comparing it to the Scriptures and to Jesus–He is the measuring stick. The Word of God is supposed to sanctify me and make me what God wants me to be. Though my culture is important, it should not influence me above the Word of God.