An important part of the Christian lifestyle includes living set apart. Living set apart means being different from the world. It means not following the crowd. A crowd is a sure sign of trouble ahead. The path that leads to life is straight and narrow and only a few will find it.
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad and easy to travel is the path that leads the way to destruction and eternal loss, and there are many who enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow and difficult to travel is the path that leads the way to [everlasting] life, and there are few who find it.”
– Jesus (Matthew 7:13-14 AMP)
Living set apart means not conforming to the world and it’s ways. Have you noticed that the world is growing darker? More and more things are considered permissible. Things that were once considered taboo are now acceptable, and we are expected to change with the times. However, God’s Word does not change. He tells us that this world will pass away but that His Word never will (Matthew 24:35).
As the expectations mount that we conform to the world’s decreasing standards, we must remember God’s instruction not to (Romans 12:2). Living set-apart means having the mind of Christ instead of mindlessly going along with what “everyone else” is doing (1 Corinthians 2:16). First, not everyone else is actually doing it, whatever it may be. And second, we are to do what God says, not the crowd.
Jesus warns us to be careful not to lose our crowns (Revelation 3:11). Here are five ways to make sure that you keep yours and live set apart:
1. Know that your identity is in Christ Jesus.
Trying to gain the approval of other flawed people is guaranteed to disappoint. Instead, believe what God says about you and then act like it. Fake until you make it, if you have to. Being a child of God includes being corrected (Hebrews 12:6-11). It includes serving God on the battlefield. Let God lead you; submit to His authority.
2. Have the courage to be disliked.
Overcome your fears. Living set apart can be scary. Be uncompromising. Remember that you are not alone; God is with you through all the affliction that will come from refusing to go along with the crowd. Pray for those who oppress you and persecute you. Pray for God to give you the strength and the help to overcome the troubles they will cause because they definitely will. Remember that you already have the victory through Christ Jesus even when it doesn’t look like you do or feel like it (John 16:33).
3. Let your light shine for all to see.
Be bold about Whose you are. As I heard in church one Sunday, “People should not be surprised when you tell them you go to church.” They should definitely be able to tell from your actions, by your kindness, by the love that you show to others that you are a child of God (John 13:35). Practice what you preach. What you say should line up with how you behave. And what you say and how you behave should line up with what God teaches us in His Word.
No one is perfect; shining your light includes being humble and being repentant when you have been wrong. It also includes showing grace to others when they have been.
4. Guard your eyes and ears from worldly influences.
5. Continue to grow in your relationship with Christ.
Spend time with Him and get to know Him better each day. Are you checking in with God before making decisions? Are you confirming what you believe God is telling you with His Word? Are you humbling yourself about your shortcomings that you know you need God’s help with (1 John 1:9)?
Is God your Friend, or is the world? We cannot be friends with both. God says when we are friends with the world, we are His enemy (James 4:4). Thus, when we are His friend, we are enemies of the world. See how either way, we are someone’s enemy? The ways of God are foolish to the world, and the ways of the world are foolish to the righteous (1 Corinthians 2:14-15). Whose enemy would you rather be, God’s or the world’s? I would rather be the world’s enemy.
Be God’s friend. Shine your light and help others find the way. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Embrace the truth and encourage others to do so also (Hebrews 12:2).
I pray I see your light shining in the new year! ✨👸🏽✨
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