Live Holiness

Do you hear voices?  If you answered yes to this question while undergoing a psychological evaluation, the doctor may conclude that you’re schizophrenic.  But it’s true that each day we do hear different voices. One voice discourages us while the other encourages us; one voice accuses us while the other comes to our aid; one voice speaks lies while the other speaks truth.

Which voice have you been listening to?  Which voice will you choose to listen to today and from now on?  This choice will make all the difference in your life.

Holy Scripture speaks about “the world”, “the flesh”, and “the devil” (the father of lies).  These realities are opposed to Spirit of God; but they are very real, and their voices speak to us each day.

The world shouts at us about how we are to live: you must buy this new product that will get you to your ideal weight in 72 hours or your money back; you must base success on how big your portfolio is; you need material things to keep you happy.

Our flesh—meaning our fallen human nature, including the mind—shouts to us in various ways: give into your sinful desires; you’re not good enough; you’ll never overcome this addiction; you’ll never change; you’re worthless if you don’t accomplish anything significant.

The devil—who is very real by the way—speaks to us too.  His voice is subtle, but powerful.  He says: being holy is too difficult for you; you’ll be happier if you live selfishly.  You keep sinning; God is very disappointed with you; wallow in your shame.  God could never love you, and He certainly won’t forgive you.

Listening to the voices of the world, the flesh, and the devil is a very good way to live without peace and joy.  But why would we choose to listen to these voices when we know that our deepest desire is for God and to experience the peace and joy that come from living in union with Him?

There is a better voice to listen to; in fact, it is the only voice that we should listen to.  It is the voice of Truth, the voice of Jesus, the Good Shepherd.  In the parable of the Good Shepherd (John 10), Jesus, referring to us, His sheep, says that we will know and listen to His voice.  What does Jesus say to us?  He says the opposite of what the world, the flesh, and the devil say to us: He encourages, He comes to our aid in time of need and temptation, and He tells us the truth about who we are.

The world says that we need to look a certain way and base success on material wealth and accomplishment.  Jesus says that He is the only way to true peace, that He is our true wealth, and that it’s okay if we don’t have six-pack abs; our inner security is found in our relationship with Him, not in how we look.

Our flesh—our fallen nature—tells us that feeding our sinful desires is the way to happiness, even though our experience proves otherwise.  Jesus says that we can do all things if we live in friendship with Him, including overcoming addictions, sinful habits, and self-defeating thought patterns.

The devil lies to us by saying that God is disappointed and angry with us; that we should wallow in self-pity if we stray from the Lord.  Jesus speaks the truth: God loves us unconditionally, even when we sin.  He never stops loving us and He is always waiting with open arms to embrace us.  No sin is greater than God’s mercy.  He always encourages us to get up when we fall and to keep going.

I truly believe that we would experience so much more peace and joy if we just learned to listen to the voice of truth, the voice of Jesus, speaking in our hearts.  This means that we must learn to tune into His voice and tune out the other voices that lie to us and entice us to embrace illusions that ultimately leave us empty.

There is a simple way do this by asking one simple question, and if you make this question a habit you will notice that your self-defeating thoughts will begin to change and you will progress in the way of holiness.  So what’s the secret question?

Ask: Whose voice is this?

During the day, if you are tempted to discouragement, simply ask: whose voice is this?  The Lord never discourages us; He only encourages us. So at that moment you’ll know that it’s not the voice of the Lord and you can choose not to listen.  You can choose to listen to the encouraging voice of Jesus.

If you look in the mirror and you hear that voice which says you’re no good, ask the question: whose voice is this?  You are a child of God, beautiful in His eyes.  He loves you.  You have inestimable dignity.  At the moment you’re thinking I’m no good, you can choose not to listen.  You can choose to listen to the voice of Jesus speaking the truth about who you are.

If you commit sin and you hear that voice which tells you to stay down, to wallow in self-pity because God is disappointed with you and can’t forgive you, ask the question: whose voice is this?  The Lord does not want us to sin, but He certainly does not want us to stay defeated and wallow in self-pity either.  You can choose not to listen to that voice, but instead listen to the voice of Jesus encouraging you and calling you to begin again.

As we learn to listen to the voice of Jesus we will be less inclined to listen to the other voices that lead us away from Him and deeper into sadness.

Which voice will you choose to listen to?

For some inspiration, here’s a link to one of my favorite songs which speaks about the Voice of Truth