The first time I saw my mom wear pants I was 13. She was hanging up Christmas lights and wore pants because she was up on a ladder. Seeing as we lived in the city and people were walking up and down our sidewalk this made a lot of sense. However, none of that good sense came any where near my brain. I saw her and immediately ran up to my room, threw myself on my knees with tears in my eyes, and cried out to God. ”

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I actually thought that this meant my mom had backslid and would be on her way to hell if she didn’t get her act together. As far as I was concerned she might as well have been drinking a beer, belching cuss words while hanging out with the antichrist, and worshiping a statue of Mary.

At 24 I am in a very different place. My wife wears pants everyday and I’m not worried for her immortal soul. The other day I drank a home brewed beer from a friend that was so good all I could say in response was “hot damn son I believe you did sell your soul to the devil!” (I hope someone gets that reference). I even hold Mary in high regard and am frustrated by those who hold her in contempt.

So…. in what parallel universe am I still a holiness Pentecostal?

In the denomination I grew up in holiness was of the utmost import. As some in the denomination grew a little progressive there were suddenly arguments taking place about standards. Standards were quite literally the criterion that one had to live up to in order to to be considered holy. The basic standards had to do with dress, women couldn’t wear pants, makeup, jewelry or cut their hair. Guys couldn’t have long hair. Nobody could watch TV, go to the movie theater, drink, smoke, cuss, etc.

Today I find the whole conversation about standards of dress and what-not to be … well… stupid. As do many of the people (including leaders)  I grew up around from that denomination.

What I do not find stupid, however, is the emphasis on holiness. As the church we are the called out ones. We are a nation of priests, we are called to be different. We should aim to live our lives in a way that makes those around us confused. We should be a truly peculiar people.

I recently heard a fantastic sermon from Tim Ross about how God’s calling on your life means that you might not get to do some of the things you want to do. He called it being “Tied up for a purpose.” This is exactly right!

The problem is discerning what those things might be.

Bro. Ross used examples like not drinking or cursing. I have tremendous respect for him but I think he underestimates how drastically different the church is called to be from the world. I don’t say this to tear Bro. Ross down, this is how many western evangelical Christians think about it. However, I just don’t believe that those things matter all that much.

I think God’s calling on our lives means much more.

Being called out by God means:

You don’t get to ruthlessly pursue money, power, and respect.

For you, the ends do not justify the means.

You don’t get revenge. You have to hand that desire over to God.sermon-on-the-mount

You have to be merciful.

You have to be a peacemaker. Not a warmonger.

When persecuted you suffer instead of fight back.

When you don’t get your way you don’t slander your enemies.

You actually have to love your enemies. Not just say you love them but actually hate them.

You consider yourself a Christian before you consider yourself an American or any other nationality.

When we attempt to live this kind of a called out life we will find ourselves rejected by the power systems of this world. People will call you impractical, mock you, hate you. You might not be welcomed in your old circles. The business man won’t be able to be as ruthless. The politician will lose just about every election they enter. The pastor will have to cease manipulating his congregation for financial gain. The soldier will have to disobey some orders. Every life, in every profession, will experience drastic change that could make them less desirable and impressive to their peers.

Holiness means we take seriously the call of God on our lives. Not in pithy ways that only require you to stop drinking, or dressing a certain way, or any other culturally developed “no-no” that can be defended with a handy dandy proof text. But in ways that drastically impact the way we live in the world.