Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the LORD your God. – Leviticus 20:7

Today’s Scripture Reading (July 18, 2012): Leviticus 20

I have never been much of a disciplinarian. It is one of many failings. My desire has always been that those around me would follow me not because they are scared of me, but rather because they respect me – even love me. It is not that I want to manipulate the people around me. I have always just wanted to work with people who are on the same page as I am. I get that some people may disagree with me, but I have never found that forced obedience to my vision has ever been a plan that had the possibility of working.

Therefore, I have never been much of a believer in rules. The idea of a rule seems to work against the idea of working together. Rules seem to force people to conform to an idea, rather than accepting a concept because they believe in it. Part of the problem is that the regulations often seem to become a substitute for a changed heart. The idea seems to be that we can use behavior modification to change the way people act. But in that belief, we are only contenting ourselves with the treatment of the symptoms. But that does not seem to be in line with Biblical teachings. The Bible seems to be more concerned with hitting at the core of our problems.

God tell Israel to consecrate themselves and be holy – not to act holy. The people of God should be set apart because God himself is holy and set apart. I know that the reason behind our rules is because the Christian community is to be holy, but rules have also failed miserably. They have produced a Christian culture that somehow believes that going through the motions is enough. But I am not sure that God would agree.

Everything in life depends on the person that we are. Sure, we can follow rules and pretend we are something different, but sooner or later who we really are will slip through our defenses. The lifelong journey that God has called us to is about who it is that God has called us to be. God`s promise is that he will circumcise our hearts – he will begin the process of returning us to the people we were designed to be in the first place.

Be holy because your God is holy. It is not something that we will ever be able to do in and of ourselves. But it is something that God wants to work inside of each one of us.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Leviticus 21