"Everyone else is doing it. You should too". -Satan

How to stay sexually and emotionally pure and how to lead business in a God-honoring way-sometimes people deal with that age-old lie that Satan tells us (and we tell ourselves) a thousand times in this life: "Everyone else is doing it. You should too."

But people do many things in life even though they know such things are wrong. It's tempting to follow the crowd and join in. We don't feel so bad when we look around and see how many other people are participating. 

But God calls us to be holy, set apart. Holiness is not making big headlines these days. But it is as relevant to Christians today as it was when God first called his people "holy" (see Exodus 19:5-6;Leviticus 20:7-8). It means that we should not buy into this world. It means we live for eternity, not for the moment. It means there is a choice we must make, and it will cost us something in order to give Jesus everything. 

Does that mean we're going to lose out on the "good life"? That depends on what kind of life we want. The Bible elaborates on the choices some of God's people made:

• When Ruth followed her godly mother-in-law instead of returning to her pagan country, she was blessed. 
• When King David lived a holy life, he prospered. When he turned away from God's ways in pursuit of what he thought would bring him happiness, he suffered. 
• When Mary agreed to be the mother of Jesus, instead of insisting on following the natural pursuits of a teenager, she was blessed. 

We all want to succeed and be happy. We can choose the way of the world to try and achieve that happiness. Or we can choose what Jesus described as the "narrow door" (Luke 13:24). If we do, we never have to worry about our choices working out in the end. God already promises they will. 

       
{Ephesians 1:3-4}
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.  
4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.  

{1 Peter 1:14-16}
14 So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then.  
15 But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy.  
16 For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”

{1 Peter 2:9-10}

9 But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

10 “Once you had no identity as a people;

now you are God’s people.

Once you received no mercy;

now you have received God’s mercy.”