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Archives: November 2009
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Archives: November 2009
Holier than thou...
By Jo Stockdale
As anyone who knows me will testify, despite my many years as a fully paid-up Christian, I have a pretty limited knowledge of the Bible. However, even I can safely say that there is no doubt in the fact we are called to be holy. Check out the following (and yes, I did have to use my concordance for this bit):
“But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written ‘Be holy because I am holy'”
1 Peter 2v15-16
“For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.”
1 Thessalonians 4v7
“…he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined.”
Titus 1v8
“You ought to live holy and godly lives.”
2 Peter 3v11b
Pretty clear, huh?
The big blue dictionary that sits on my bookshelf, unashamedly gathering dust, gives the following definition for the word ‘holy’:
1) Dedicated to God
2) Morally and spiritually excellent.
Gosh, that sounds pretty challenging, doesn’t it?
So is it just me, or does anyone else find this whole holiness thing about as easy as turning off The X Factor halfway through (I’m a massive fan, if that helps you understand my little analogy there)? Over the years I’ve learnt that to be ‘dedicated to God’ and ‘morally and spiritually excellent’ is a difficult, difficult thing. While we’re trying our hardest to aspire to The Good Lord, there’s so many things in our way stopping us (like The X Factor!).
And I’ve discovered that because being holy is so difficult the whole thing just generates one big inferiority complex;
Am I being holy enough?
I was much more holy last week/month/year, what’s happened now?
Why are my friends so much more holy than me?
How the heck can I become more holy, so I can be like my vicar/youth leader/friend?
To be honest, I don’t think I’ve found the real answer to any of these questions, but what I have discovered are a few answers to the question ‘how can I appear more holy?’
You see, in a world where (unfortunately) appearance is priority, where it is not necessarily what you say but how you look that’s important, I’ve worked out that a few little things can go a long way to helping you score highly on the Holy Chart. (I recently read a book where the author had a penchant for making lists.
Indulge me while I follow suit.) In no particular order, try the following to look really holy:
1) Agree loudly with ‘mmm’ noises, whilst furtively nodding your head when someone else is praying.
2) Give your own prayers a high word-to-minute ratio. Note that it’s not really important what you actually say – people will just be impressed with the sheer volume of words.
3) Sing loudly during worship, with you eyes screwed shut for as long as is humanly possible.
4) Sign off all your birthday cards to friends and family with a Bible verse.
5) Share your visions of consuming fires, powerful waterfalls, floating balloons and the like as much as you can get away with.
The good thing is, for the most part, people don’t know what’s really going on inside your head when you’re looking oh-so-holy.
Take the other Sunday, for example. It was the prayer slot at church (which I do believe on this occasion lasted 22 minutes and 15 seconds). I mentally wrote a shopping list, planned my summer wardrobe and recalled 49 of the 50 American States.
Does this sound familiar? My other confession is that as I raised my hands in worship the other week I was actually thinking about the boy I fancied who I knew was sitting a couple of rows behind me, secretly hoping that he found my obvious display of holiness and love for the Lord a very attractive quality.
The other thing I’ve got going for me is that I’m fortunate enough to work in a church office. This means that I can quite easily appear to be in the Premiership of Holiness: it’s very easy to appear holy when people hear how I ‘work full-time for the Lord’ and listen to my stories of how we gather around the broken photocopier to pray for it’s ‘healing’ (not my idea, trust me).
Little do they know that my life is sometimes so holiness devoid I’m facing relegation.
I realise now that I’ve pretty much blown my cover as a total con artist. But I’m not all bad. It’s taken me a while but I now realise that the Christian walk is not an easy one. Jesus never said it was. I just need to strive every day to be more of the person God wants me to be, asking the Holy Spirit to help me in all that I do. To this end, I’m really trying hard to:
1) Keep my mind in check when it starts to wander during sermon.
2) Be disciplined and read my Bible every day.
3) Only pray what’s necessary, cutting out the superfluous rubbish.
4) Use my ‘really going for it’ Christian friends to inspire me rather than make me feel second-rate.
5) Not feel guilty when I’m not feeling particularly holy.
6) Realise that while God, of course, wants us to be holy, he also wants up to real, with ourselves, the people around us and Him.
The good news for me, and you too, I hope (because I would really hate to think I’m the only one who struggles in this area!), is that the walk we’re on is a journey and that as I travel I have the transforming power of God on my side:
“And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness, with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”
2 Corinthians 3v18
Therefore my daily prayer is to ask the Lord to help me become more like Him, to be holy, just as He is holy. And so when people around me offer up similar prayers, you may well see me nodding my head lots and ‘mmm-ing’ loudly.
About the writer
Jo Stockdale work for the very fantastic church St Mary's Bryanstone Square in Marylebone. She's a very lovely person in her own right, but she's also the sister of our Ali Martin. She's married to Paul and lives in London.
Soul Survivor is a Christian charity that puts on events for young people. Our registered charity no. is 1080720. We are also a company limited by guarantee in England & Wales. Our company registered number is 03991111, which is nice. Thanks for caring.
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