We are considering what a leader in the church should look like. However, we ought to know that everyone who is a child of God should make these characteristics part of his or her life.

These characteristics are actually a way of life: ⁸ … be helpful, wise, fair, reverent … So, what does it mean to be reverent? The answer is found in the original text and is translated as “holy”. You and I must live holy before God.

I’ve misunderstood the word “holy” for a long time. I thought it described how good a Christian you were. If you’re a good Christian, you shifted up the ladder of holiness. Highly holy people, I felt, were untouchable. You needed to get out of their way and not bother them.

Actually, holy describes your relationship with God. You see, holy can be translated as “set apart for God”. The more we are set apart for God, the less we form part of the world. The more we do the things of God, the less time we have for worldly things. The more time we spend on God’s things, the holier we are.

And that is how the Lord wants us to live. Set apart for Him. Set aside for Him. Involved with his things and not with worldly things. But it is exactly here where we often miss the target.

We are in the world and we cannot simply withdraw from the world. We can’t lock ourselves away like monks inside a monastery and dedicate our whole lives to God. Who will then be God’s light in the world? Who will be Jesus’ hands and feet?

Indeed, all of us are called to live in this world and to make a difference. But we have to do it as holy people set apart for God. It’s not easy, because the world attracts you like a magnet. The world pulls you away from God. The world wants to steal you from God – that is what the devil tries his utmost to do.

We must realise that we do live in the world. We don’t have to pack up all our belongings and go and live in a tent somewhere in a desert. We must realise that God has set us aside for Him and that we need to move away from the things of the world more and more, and live increasingly more like people set aside for God.

But this is the dilemma. We have to do it while we live in the world. We have to be able to oppose the powers of the devil. We must make sure that we don’t give in to temptations. We must ensure that we are strong enough all the time not to be sucked into the wrong things of the world.

And we have to make peace with this. We must make peace with the fact that we have to be in the world, because we need to help others. We were put here with a purpose. We have to be Jesus’ hands and feet, not the same, but different. Others want to be like that too. Others long to be set apart for God, but don’t know how. Let’s go and help them. Let’s show them how to be less in the world and how to live more apart for God.

Scripture
Titus 1:6-10

Reflection
Which parts of your life is set apart for God and which parts do you keep for yourself to do what you want to?
How can you do things in God’s way in the world you live in?
Which worldly things should God’s children not participate in at all?

Prayer
Lord, please help me keep my eyes on You and to live for your glory, and not seek to glorify myself or other people. I want to dedicate every part of my life to You. Please help me to be willing to be different and to be the salt and the light for the people around me every day. Amen.