Purity VIII

They will sing of the ways of the Lord.

 - From Psalm 138

What are the "ways" of the LORD?

First, they are not our ways. If they were our ways, we would find it easy to do them. Holiness and purity are not hard for God. He is holiness Himself. He is Love itself. He is pure. To be "holy" means to be pure, separate, different.

And to want to associate and elevate people so far below Him, as God does, is the definition of Love and Grace.

We're supposed to aspire to the ways of God, not mock them; not run from them; not attack them.

In a sense, purity is complete and perfect selflessness. Fasting is a way to practice purity. The person that fasts, as a committed ritualistic behavior, will probably not ever suffer from physical ailments connected to diet. You probably will find few diabetics among them that fast at least once a month.

Discipline is good for you and good for others. Sacrifice is good for you and good for others. When you deny yourself food, you focus on more important things . . . and you are leaving some food that can be eaten by others (in theory).

Purity from vulgar language, alcohol, smoking, TV, pop culture influences, ridiculous opinions from academia, and even sexuality and all of its components, make you a better person. The exercise of self-discipline and control, in these areas, makes you better able to control yourself in other ways, in important ways.

A random shooter of anonymous crowds is probably never going to be someone that fasts regularly. Purity develops your sense of valuing others. It develops your ability to control yourself.

And so . . . it's natural that a purity-valuing person making important life decisions, like whom to marry, or what to do in the voting booth, will carry that emphasis into those areas. If you see the value of personal purity and of high moral standards, you will naturally want to see those influences expanded in society.

The ways of the Lord are lofty and unattainable. But we can aspire towards them. And that is a good thing.

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