5 Benefits of Holy Living

 

by Barbara Latta @barbaralatta

Holiness is viewed by the world around us as an undesirable trait.

The reason for this is because they don’t understand what holiness means. To unbelievers, holiness means being a boring, never-doing-anything-fun type of person.

According to Strong’s #H6944 holiness means, hallowed, consecrated, dedicated.[i]

Ascribe to Yahweh the glory due His name; worship Yahweh in the splendor of His holiness. (Psalm 29:2 HCSB)

One of the dictionary definitions of holy is having a spiritually pure quality.

The secular environment focuses on health, appearance, and pursuit of youth. Billions of dollars are spent year after year on cosmetics, exercise equipment, gym memberships, health food and vitamins.  Nature programs push taking care of the earth to the point of worshipping the planet.

Yet this same group of people think nothing of what goes into their minds. Movies, books, articles, conversations, and attitudes that permeate culture can poison souls.

Why does the world want to be pollution free in the physical, but ignore the pollution that enters minds and emotions?

Because they have bought into the same lie the devil used in the Garden of Eden.

Everything the Lord created was good. No shame existed. Adam and Eve were holy, hallowed, and consecrated to their Creator.

But the devil does the same thing now he did then. He lied. He told Adam and Eve they were missing out on something.

Satan spreads his lies among the unsuspecting convincing them they are missing out on fun if they don’t participate in drugs, alcohol, or illicit sex.

Cultural attitudes have deceived the unbelieving public that to be happy a person must follow their desires and do whatever they want.

Youth are ridiculed if they desire to remain sexually pure until marriage. Losing virginity is considered a trophy to be sought.

If we fall into the trap of looking to societal attitudes for validation, we will see things we don’t have. Someone is always prettier, richer, happier, more popular, and more talented.

As women, we seek beauty. But we should defend ourselves against the wrong perceptions of allurement and desire the splendor our Father defines.

Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord will be praised. (Proverbs 31:30)

How can we live in the beauty of holiness and teach our youth purity doesn’t mean living a prudish lifestyle?

We need to view holiness as an aspiring character trait rather than a curse. We can see what a gift virtuous living is when we learn what our identity in Christ means.

We are daughters of the King of kings and Lord of lords. Who doesn’t want to reign as a princess? Knowing our God is holy, and He wants us to be holy tells us consecration is a beautiful thing.

Let the king be enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your lord. (Psalm 45:11 NIV)

5 Benefits of Holy Living

1. Holiness protects us from sin and contamination of the world.

2. Holiness can keep us healthier. By not participating in smoking, alcohol, drugs, and illicit sex certain diseases and health problems can be prevented, as well as pre-mature aging and death.

3. Holiness keeps us guilt free. When we live by our Father’s standards, there is nothing for our conscience to condemn us about.

4. Holiness can make us happy. When we are connected to the Lord, we can live a stress-free, peaceful life. Holiness makes us confident. When we are sold out to Christ, we don’t need to seek approval from others. We can boldly live in His will and know the blessings that follow.

5. Holiness pleases God. The best reason of all to live holy is because our Father wants us to. His desire is for us to be healthy, guilt-free, joyful, and away from the evils of sin.

Women Rescued from Sin Because They Turned to Godliness

The Almighty didn’t hold anything back in the stories he shared in the Bible. The sins and failures are recorded as well as the victories.

This can give us hope because we can see the biblical people as humans like us. We all need a Savior.

He shows us how some women turned from a lifestyle of sin to follow the Lord and how their lives were blessed because of their decisions.

• Rahab turned away from prostitution to serve the one true God. She married one of the Israelite warriors and was Boaz’s mother. She is mentioned in the lineage of Jesus.
• Ruth left her idol-worshipping nation to follow Jehovah. She was rewarded with marriage to Boaz, became the great-grandmother of King David and was in the genealogy of the Messiah.
• The woman who brought fragrant oil and anointed Jesus was so grateful for forgiveness she entered a house full of men who ridiculed her and could have thrown her out. Jesus said her sins were many but that her faith had saved her. She turned from sin to holiness and Jesus commended her for her actions.
• The adulterous woman was shown mercy. When she saw that Jesus didn’t condemn her, she found a new way of consecrated living.

These women show us there are no lost causes. Even if a person doesn’t start out with a pure lifestyle, the decision to turn to God transforms a sinful soul into a beautiful creation full of potential.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

The best life is one lived in the beauty of holiness.

What greater gift can we receive than that?

 Join the conversation and share your thoughts.

This article first appeared on Living by Design.

We need to view holiness as an aspiring character trait rather than a curse. We can see what a gift virtuous living is when we learn what our identity in Christ means (click to tweet)

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[i] https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h6944/kjv/wlc/0-1/