Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him with a perfect and most sincere heart: and put away the gods which your fathers served in Mesopotamia and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if it seem evil to you to serve the Lord, you have your choice: choose this day that which pleases you, whom you would rather serve, whether the gods which your fathers served in Mesopotamia, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell: but as for me and my house we will serve the Lord.
Joshua 24:14-15

The scripture passage was part of Joshua's message to the children of Israel before he died. He commanded them to serve God with a perfect and most sincere heart. He then enumerated how this is to be done: reject other gods and serve the Lord. This was a challenge to serve God only.

As can be seen, this challenge requires a decision. No one can make that decision for us. This is a decision we must make for ourselves. Joshua put it very elegantly, “as for me and my house we will serve the Lord”.

During his time, the people of Israel were influenced by their history and neighbors. They were surrounded by idol worship. Their ancestors practiced idolatry. Their neighbors practiced idolatry. The exclusive worship of God was a challenge. In this environment, a nation's survival depends on defining its own identity. Therefore, this call to be different from the other nations.

Holiness demands being separated from others. When Jesus spoke of his second coming, he said the angels will separate the wicked from the righteous. The concept of holiness is more like the lamp that we light and put on a hill so others may see. Holiness depends on the purpose. It is to be separated with the intent of standing out.

God wants to set us aside so that we can stand out from the crowd and give glory to him. After all, this is the reason why we were created, to give glory to God. By going with the flow of culture, we cannot stand out for others to see.

We become holy, not by going with the flow of culture. We become holy by going against the culture. Throughout history, the Church grew because she stood out from culture. During the first centuries, the Church was persecuted by the government. Christians were crucified, fed to lions, killed, and tortured. Thousands of Christians died for their faith. Yet, instead of dying, the Church flourished. We see this throughout the centuries in countries where the Church is persecuted.

It is not easy to live a holy life. But this is what God demands from us. It requires a decision to stand out. It requires courage to live that decision. But this is the only way to fulfill God's plan for us.