Look up in the sky at night. The stars stand out from the darkness–some more brightly than others. Some twinkle. Some shine brightly as beacons in the night and give us direction.

Philippians 2:14—16 says:

Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. (NIV)

The Message version says it like this:

Do everything readily and cheerfully—no bickering, no second-guessing allowed! Go out into the world uncorrupted, a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society. Provide people with a glimpse of good living and of the living God. Carry the light-giving Message into the night so I’ll have good cause to be proud of you on the day that Christ returns. (MSG)

Paul gives us a beautiful picture of how our lives are supposed to be in the world. We are supposed to “shine like stars in the universe” as we live a life of purity. In this way, others will see the message of Jesus through us. When we are living a life of purity, we stand out brightly. The more we live like the world lives, the dimmer our light is to others. The less we are shining the way to Jesus for others.

This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. (John 3:19 NIV) 

The question to reflect on is this: are we lovers of light or of darkness?

God had to save us from being in the world. But sometimes we look around and don’t discern that the world is actually operating in evil. We either get so used to the world’s culture that we don’t see it, we don’t know what God’s standards are or we love our own ways more than we love God. Those of us in church sometimes look too much like the world. Sometimes this is the case because we don’t know any better, sometimes it’s because we are easily influenced, and other times because we have not realized a need to choose purity.

James 4:4 draws a line in the sand between dark and light.

You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. (NIV)

What a strong statement he makes to a group of Jesus followers! It is a very difficult thing at times to take a stand against a culture that is opposed to God. The verse from Philippians we looked at earlier described the world as a “polluted society.”

Have you seen how hard it is to avoid ungodly influences? I have lived for quite a while now, and have seen how much easier it is to access or be exposed to ungodly ways of thinking. It hasn’t always been this way, but as we continue to open up the gates of technology, it is exposing us to every thought that anyone– godly influenced people, satanically influenced people and everyone else in between–has cared to express. Many years ago, the thoughts we were exposed to were the ideas from the friends and family around us which, for many of us were good influences. However, now even if you are surrounded with like-minded people, you can open up a portal simply with your phone or computer into worlds of those who are not like-minded and have dark intent. Even if you intend on using technology for good, it is sometimes difficult to navigate around images and ideas that are ungodly. 

Our self-control has to become super-powered in this generation. Where do we get that self-control? Galatians gives us both a picture of what God calls worldly, as well as what keys he has given us to help us overcome the world…

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. (Galatians 5:16—26 NIV)

Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit. Fellowship with the Holy Spirit is what gives us the ability to operate in super-powered self-control (as well as love, joy, peace, patience, etc.).

Did you know we are citizens of another country?

Have you ever lived in another culture? I have, and I have felt very self-conscious about it many times. When I lived in Pine Ridge amongst the Lakota tribe, my skin color was the first thing to stick out, and then my accent and then my way of doing things. There were so many things about our cultures that were different! Eventually, I picked up an accent from living there and then acclimated to averting my eyes out of honor to others. And I had a very difficult time reverting back when I came home!

Being around people of a different culture will most likely influence you whether you are conscious of it or not.

Stick with me, friends. Keep track of those you see running this same course, headed for this same goal. There are many out there taking other paths, choosing other goals, and trying to get you to go along with them. I’ve warned you of them many times; sadly, I’m having to do it again. All they want is easy street. They hate Christ’s Cross. But easy street is a dead-end street. Those who live there make their bellies their gods; belches are their praise; all they can think of is their appetites.

But there’s far more to life for us. We’re citizens of high heaven! We’re waiting the arrival of the Savior, the Master, Jesus Christ, who will transform our earthy bodies into glorious bodies like his own. He’ll make us beautiful and whole with the same powerful skill by which he is putting everything as it should be, under and around him. (Philippians 3:17—21 MSG)

This passage distinguishes two citizenships–earthly citizenship that “makes their bellies their gods” which means whatever they think, whatever they feel is what leads them. This is in contrast to another citizenship–a heavenly one–which by the Spirit will lead us. God is our god, not our sensual desires.

But how do we live in the dark and filthy culture of this world and not lose our heavenly culture? Or, if we are new to the kingdom of God, how do we give up our old culture and learn the heavenly kingdom’s ways?

We will look at this further in Shining Brightly in a Dark World, part 2! Keep an eye out for this next article, coming soon.

For more on this topic from a different point of view, check out the Purpose of Purity