Holy

I cringe whenever I read a "be" directive in scripture. I like obedience that involves doing - give your tithe, serve others. Those are things I can make myself do even on the bad days.

But when Peter writes, "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 1:15-16), I get uncomfortable. You can't fake being something, not to God anyway.

See, here's the problem: I often go to worship grumpy. I frequently rush through my devotions and cut short my prayers. I usually do good with mixed motives. I've mastered the art of looking a lot more holy than I am. But I don't think I'm anywhere near as holy as I should be after this many years to work on it.

It doesn't help much that Peter gives some good advice on how to be holy. In the verses immediately preceding, he says, "Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance."

Preparing my mind would be helpful, but it might take time away from the things I want to read and watch and think about. Putting my hope in grace makes a lot of sense too, except I like to be in control instead of relying on someone else. Not conforming to evil desires is also good advice.

I guess there is a lot of "doing" for me to do in pursuit of "being." As with so many things, it comes down to effort and focus. Too much of my effort goes into other things, and not enough focus on God. Maybe if I fix the focus, there's a way to "do" myself into being holy.