Holy or Happy?

“God is more concerned with our holiness than our happiness and with our character than our comfort.” This is what I heard as I sat in Bible study last week. We are currently in the book of Leviticus which outlines God’s instructions for sacrifices, cleansing and offerings. God was very specific about the way things were to be done. When things weren’t done God’s way, it was death to the individual.

If it seems merciless and unnecessary, you are looking at it though the human perspective. You have to understand that God is a holy God and He demands holiness from His people. Holiness, when applied to the Christian, is being set apart for God. Holiness is living according to God’s word and plan for our lives. God’s punishment in the book of Leviticus is evidence that God demands holiness from His people. “Holiness is not a luxury.”

God’s ways are not to be compromised for our own happiness or comfort. God’s ways are not easy. We are human. We are sinful by nature and we are in a constant battle with our flesh. The Spirit of God inside of us leads us to be holy, to be more like God. But our flesh longs for happiness and comfort. This is evident in my own life every day. I wake up. I pray and worship as I prepare myself for the day ahead. I start with great intentions of being the best person that there ever was. I begin my day longing to be the woman, mother and wife that God has called me to be. Then, I have to come out of my room and bathroom, where I have been preparing for the day and I am greeted by cranky kids that don’t want to go to school and the chaos that is my day. Suddenly, those intentions go flying out the window and I am just looking for the quickest exit out of the “day to day life trials.”

As my day continues, I make choices. As I examine the choices that I make, I find that I often choose the easy route, and I realize that my first concern is often happiness and comfort rather than holiness and character. When I examine the choices I make every day, I have a better understanding of the battle that we all fight from day to day. I see clearly the ways that I have sought happiness over holiness in my own life, a habit that is dangerous and hard to break.

We are faced with choices every moment of every day. Will you choose God’s way, or will you choose your way? There is no “easy button” on God’s path. God’s ways are hard for the flesh because they are contrary to the flesh. But every time we choose God’s way, we become more like Him and that sacrifice of ourselves rises before Him as a sweet smelling offering. Romans chapter 12 verse 1 says that we are to be a living sacrifice, a holy sacrifice. Sacrifices are costly and painful. Jesus offered His own life and blood to cleanse us in God’s eyes and we are asked to freely give our lives as an offering back to God. It’s hard, but God offers us the strength that we need and promises us that He won’t give us anything that we cannot handle (through His strength, not our own).

I encourage you, as I rely on God’s strength to do the same, to choose holiness, not happiness today. Sacrifice your life to God today. It won’t be easy, but true joy and blessings await for those who choose holiness over their own happiness and comfort.