As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 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 1:14-16 NIV)
Why do we tend to shrink back from this command? Maybe we are intimidated, thinking we could never be perfect like God, or perhaps we think that being holy would rob us of enjoyment and fun. What exactly is God asking of us? To be holy means to be “set apart.” Christians are to be “set apart” for His use.
God is challenging us to make a choice. James 4:4 states that “friendship with the world means enmity against God.” He is asking us to embrace Him rather than the world, to have eternal priorities instead of earthly ones. Our citizenship is in Heaven. When our priorities are temporal, our lives are full of greed, lust, idolatry, or wrongful attitudes. Our spiritual insight becomes cloudy. God desires the best for us. When we seek holiness, we start to see things as God sees them. Not only are we blessed, but we can then be used to bless the lives of others.