Holiness is Reactionary

As a Christian, I hear the word “holy” banded about a lot.

God is holy. Humanity is supposed to be holy in loving response, imitating and becoming like their Creator. But how does that look? How do we mere mortals start being holy?

Apart from the meanings the word takes on through religiosity, holy simply means “set apart” or “other”. It carries a sense of being distinguished, of standing out. Usually, a Christian would understand this being “set apart” as a positive — standing out by one’s love for God, by one’s good deeds, or by one’s love for a neighbour.

A couple months ago I came across a saying I had never heard before. And it completely changed the way that I view holiness. Here it is:

“Holiness is reactionary”

Holiness is reactionary. What does that mean? In simple terms, it means we can’t plan to be holy. Instead, when we go about everyday life, we are presented — confronted perhaps — with opportunities to be holy. These opportunities come in the fleeting, spontaneous moments of mundane existence and often they come when we least expect them. It is when we are queuing in a line and we begin speaking to the person next to us; when we are in a rush down the street and happen to bump into an old friend; when we glancingly spot the homeless woman sitting on the side of the street. These brief encounters offer each of us a choice. A choice to demonstrate holiness, or not. Will we seize these interruptions and turn them into something beautiful?

Of course, it may be reductionistic to say that we can never plan to be holy. In a bout of strong will-power and resolve we can endeavour to live holy lives. Often, however, the comparably short time we spend on our own each morning, where we promise to ourselves or to God that we will be holy, is all too easily forgotten. The busyness of life soon invades that still, sure resolve and we find that the rush takes over. Whilst it is a nice sentiment to make that kind of resolve each morning, sometimes it never bears fruit.

Life gets busy, for all of us. I have never met a person who complained about having too much time on their hands. But it is in the brief and unplanned interruptions of our everyday existence that we are presented with a choice to either embrace holiness or not — t0 seize the opportunity to practice holiness or not.

Around whom can we practice holiness, and be “set apart” by our Christian distinctiveness? Who are around us? Who can we love today? Where are the lonely or broken-hearted? Let’s walk in step with the Spirit today, and embrace the unforeseen opportunities to practice holiness.

Holiness is reactionary.