A Completely Different Life

You shall be holy to me, for I the LORD am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine. Leviticus 20:26

I’ve been to recovery meetings where an attendee has shown up intoxicated or high, claiming to be sober. It’s a painful experience as everyone can see what’s happening, but even when confronted he (or she) denies being under the influence. It’s not surprising of course, when you’ve got a group of individuals together who struggle with chemicals, that one of them will relapse. What has been surprising, is that this individual came to a recovery meeting, demanding that everyone believe he’s sober. It’s not that someone struggling with chemicals shouldn’t go to a recovery meeting. That’s why the meeting exists. The problem is that if you claim to be in recovery, and you show up high, you’re still lying to everyone. To be in recovery means that you’re abstinent from mood-altering chemicals and that you’re living a very different life than you were previously. Transitioning from active addiction to recovery involves radical life changes that every can see. You can’t claim to be in recovery while using drugs.

I’ve done something similar with my faith though. I grew up in a fairly rule-oriented faith and then rebelled against that as I grew into adulthood. I recognized that because I was saved by faith, not by my good behavior, I was free to do whatever I wanted, believing that God would forgive me afterward. I claimed to be a Christian, but I didn’t follow Christ. Rather, I followed me and my appetite. God eventually forgave me of course, but still, I made quite a mess of my life in the process of following me. In my addiction, I came to recognize that if I claim to follow God, then my faith must radically impact my behavior. If I call myself a Christian, my new life must look very different than the old life.

Though it was long before the birth of Christ, this was God’s message in today’s passage. In it, God described the boundaries and rules that were to govern his people’s behavior. He explained that they weren’t to follow the culture around them, but rather, they were to follow him. Following God necessarily meant that they lived a life that looked very different. If they claimed to believe in God, but they lived just like everyone around them, they were living a lie.

If I claim to be in recovery, I can’t use drugs. Likewise, if I claim to follow God, that too will radically affect my thoughts, words, and actions. Faith isn’t simply a belief in my head. Rather, it’s a completely different way of life.