Ricky Williams and holiness
Posted by admin in spirituality on Jul 28th, 2005 | 10 commentsIf you follow the NFL, you know that Ricky Williams has decided to play football for the Miami Dolphins again. He’s turned over a new leaf. He’s been given a new beginning by head coach Nick Saban. No more weed for Ricky. He contritely asked forgiveness from his teammates for leaving them in a tough spot last season. He’s a changed man. He’s gone from the narcissistic, tokin’ tailback to the total team player. When I read about and saw footage of Ricky’s comeback, I gave him credit for trying to make amends. In his own way, Ricky’s been on a quest for holiness.
Now there’s a word you don’t hear much about lately: holiness. I’m not talking about the Pope here. I’m talking about the lifestyle that Christians are supposed to live. This isn’t the prudish, Quakerish, what you do on Sundays kind of thing. It’s a state of being.
Holiness is hard work. Being holy is a lot harder than looking holy. Lot’s of people can fake it for an hour or two on Sunday morning. That’s easy. It’s also why a lot of people that claim to be Christians fake it. The whole time, we’re breaking God’s heart because the sincerity of our faith is a fraud.
But I’m not talking about you or me, right? We know that if you’re a genuine follower of Christ then you’ve been made holy by God’s forgiveness (Romans 3:24). You’ve been given the ability to approach God whenever and wherever (Hebrews 10:18-19). The hard work of holiness starts soon after your reorientation to what is good and right (Hebrews 12:1-12). Your conversion was a point in time (you were reborn; John 3) but the process of becoming like Jesus Christ is a continual process (2 Corinthians 2:15).
So what is holiness anyway? If it’s not the pomposity of religion or the arrogance of belonging to a moral country club, what does it look like in the everyday life of a Christian? To begin with it means you’re different…on the inside. The reorientation of your soul and spirit from self-centeredness to others-centeredness has taken place. Quite literally, you have been set apart from others. Not for pomposity or arrogance, but for serving. Your relationship with God has been sealed, but the process of changing your behavior has just begun. It’s a process that happens from the inside out.
The process is one that takes discipline and hard work. The process is initiated by God and then you and I participate in the process of becoming holy. Here are some principles of the holiness process found in Hebrews chapter 12: We have to consciously get rid of anything that slows the progress of becoming more like Jesus Christ (v.1a). We can’t give up on ourselves or God (v.1b). We must keep the example of Jesus in the forefront of our minds (v.2). We have to get used to the fact that holiness is hard work. It will take self-discipline and accepting discipline from God to keep us consistent (v.3-12).
Holiness is hard work, so we have to work hard at it. When we’re not consistent, God’s grace is there to forgive. When we are consistent God is standing on the sidelines cheering us on. Either way, God is on our side. His love endures forever. Keep working at being holy.
Have a nice day.
10 Responses to “ “Ricky Williams and holiness”
Leave a Reply
Nice blog, nice post.
Holiness is a word that I think they misspelled in translating the Bible.
Wholeness, now that is what it is all about. Being whole. It is not as hard as one might think. It does take a shift in attitude and thinking.
George
Thank you.
No mistranslation. Holiness is a fundamental component of wholeness.
May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5:23)
So, you think piety is a requirement to wholness?
George
No, piety is dutifulness in religion.
Holiness is a fundamental component of wholeness in that it is being set apart to purity in spirit, soul, and body. Specifically, holiness is the state of growing in God’s grace. Holiness is not defined by a human code of conduct, as is piety.
So then one can be whole without piety.
George
Nope, didn’t say that.
What’s your belief?
I’d have to say I think being whole, a good person, following the Golden Rule, not feeling needy does not require piety.
Somehow I see piety as a show.
In the new post, you made a statement as to why a passage was written. How can you know that?
George
Seeing “piety as a show” is something on which we agree. Piety is devotion to religious duties.
From a Christian worldview, wholeness begins with a relationship with God. While being a good person and following the Golden rule are admirable, those that hold to the historical, bibilically based view of Christianity would say that morality alone won’t earn a person eternal life or wholeness. If you would like more info on the Christian worldview of eternal life I would be more than happy to tell you.
Regarding how one can know why a passage was written: I interpreted the passage based on who wrote it, to whom it was written, and the context is was written in. It’s a common practice in interpreting a historical document. The intent of the passage is determined by the author, audience, and cultural milieu.
Ken, I would like to hear more on:
Christian worldview of eternal life
I never considered that the audience helped determine the meaning.
George
George,
I’ll post on the Christian worldview of eternal life in a regular post. It’s easier to write and edit there on my part. I’ll put something up by tomorrow evening. If you happen to be in the Atlanta area, you’re more than welcome to drop by where I’ll be speaking. It just so happens that I’m covering that exact topic.
http://www.thejourneytoforever.com
Kind of sleepy right now. I’ll post tomorrow.