Distinguish

"You are to distinguish between the holy and the common,

and between the unclean and the clean,

and you are to teach the people of Israel

all the statutes that the LORD

has spoken to them by Moses."

Leviticus 10:10-11

She needed a few utensils to use in her soap-making endeavors.  Since she found it was important to guard against contamination by keeping the tools made for cooking separate from those used for creating the bars of soap, she labeled a storage bag for the non-food utensils.  My daughter knows enough to distinguish between the two uses for our utensils.

In a similar way, God differentiates between the holy and common, the clean and the unclean, the truth and deception.  While the world views everything as the same and even interchangeable, there is a difference to God.  Therefore, I must learn to distinguish as He does.

Holy and Common

"What in the **** was he thinking?"

"You mean, 'What in the hell was he thinking?'"

"Yes, but I wasn't sure what I should say since I was in a church."

"You shouldn't curse, but 'hell' is a place not a curse."

So was the logic overheard at a recent community meeting held in our church.  While the man did have the right idea that God does care about what comes out of our mouths, he didn't realize the church is not the only place where that matters.

As a follower of Christ, my body has been bought at a price and is no longer my own to do with as I please.  Instead, it is a temple of God's holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) Consequently, I am set aside for His purposes and I am called to live a life that is pleasing to Him.  (1 Peter 2:9-12)

On the flip side, it is ridiculous for me to look at the lost around me and expect them to behave in a godly way.  They have neither the power to do so by the Spirit of God, nor the understanding of their own sinfulness.  Therefore, I must distinguish between who belongs to God through faith in Jesus Christ and who has yet to enter into that transforming relationship.

Since there is a difference, I am called to love those who act callously, crudely and coldheartedly because they know not what they do. (Matthew 5:44)  The world is filled with lost souls who need the love of God, and many times His people are the conduits of His compassion and kindness.  If I instead hold them to a standard that is impossible for me or anyone else to meet, I am forgetting the difference the empowering Spirit of God makes in a life. (John 16:5-15, Acts 1:8)

As a child of God through faith in Christ, I must distinguish between those who are made holy through the blood of Jesus and those who are not.

Clean and Unclean

"We can do whatever we want."  I couldn't understand what my new neighbor was trying to say.  She had invited my daughters and I over to her home for a spa night with the hope that her girls would find friends in mine.  Unfortunately, we soon learned their ideas of the freedom found in Christ were skewed.

A few years later, this family of six suffered unwed pregnancies by two of the daughters and a dabbling into homosexuality by a third.  Clearly, this kind of freedom was not what God had in mind for His people.

I am reminded that everything is allowable for me to do as a child of God.  Not all things, however, are good for me. (1 Corinthians 6:12)  Therefore, it is important that I not take on the attitude of my neighbors, thinking I have been given carte blanche in how to live my life; to spend my time the way that pleases me, to take part in activities that appeal to my sin nature, or to keep the company of those who give me a good feeling.  

Instead, I must realize there are some pastimes that steal my heart from my jealous Father, some places where I will find temptation to sin, and some people who will corrupt the beliefs I know to be true.  (Exodus 20:5, 2 Timothy 2:22, 1 Corinthians 15:33)  For this reason, it is important that I strive to know the difference between what is good for me as God's child, and what is not.

As a child of God through faith in Christ, I must distinguish between the clean and the unclean.

Truth and Deception

Cleanliness is next to godliness.

God helps those who help themselves.

God does not give us more than we can handle.

Money is the root of all evil.

These are all common sayings that are attributed to truths found in the Bible, but are not, in fact, Biblical.  They may have a basis of truth, but each twists that truth just enough to make it wrong.   For instance, it is the state of my heart that is more important than the outward cleanliness and I am only made right with God by the cleansing blood of Jesus (Matthew 7:18-23, 1 Samuel 16:7, Matthew 23:25-26).  

Likewise, there is nothing I can do to save myself and God works best when I cooperate with Him instead of trying to make something happen apart from Him (Ephesians 2:8-9, Isaiah 40:31).  

Furthermore, God doesn't tempt me beyond what I can bear but He often allows much more into my life than what I can carry in my own strength (1 Corinthians 10:13, 2 Corinthians 12:9).  

Finally, while money is not good or bad in and of itself, the love of it can ruin a man and his faith.  (1 Timothy 6:10, Matthew 6:24)

If I am to be able to discern between godly wisdom and that which is from the world, I will need to make a commitment to learning the truth found in God's Word.  The more I study, the easier it is for me to pick out that which does not line up with His plumb line. (2 Timothy 3:16-17,Psalm 1:1-3, 2 Timothy 3:14-15) If I stay away from His Word, simply relying on what I already know, I will fall for anything that sounds good to me. (Matthew 13:20-21)

As a child of God through faith in Christ, I must distinguish between the Truth and deception.

I live in a world where everything is treated as equally as valid.  In God's economy, however, there is a difference between the holy and common, the clean and unclean, and the truth and deception.  Therefore, as His child, I must learn to distinguish the difference instead of embracing everything as good.  In this way I will please God as I take His kingdoms ways seriously.

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can lean not on my own understanding but instead submit myself to God and His ways.

When do I prefer my ways enough to choose the lies that sound so good to my sin nature?

How am I putting myself in jeopardy by allowing temptation into my life?