2.26.26 ~ Adjusting Our definition of holiness

In the Torah portion, Kedoshim ("holiness"), I was reminded of the story of two young fish that were swimming along and happened to meet an older fish swimming upstream in the opposite direction. The older fish nods at them and says, "Morning, boys. How's the water?" The two young fish swim for a bit, and then eventually, one of them looks over at the other and says, "What in the world is water?" The moral of the story is not quite obvious regarding the most important realities of life. The things—including people—that we are surrounded by, all day, every day, are among the realities that are hardest to see, perceive, and understand. As Ricky Ricardo would say on I Love Lucy, "Let me 'splain."

Over the past three weeks of counting the Omer—now day 22—we have reexamined grace and the Passover Lamb (FYI: for those who missed the first Passover, May 1 is Passover Sheni—Second Passover; Num. 9:6–7 :-). And in last week's Omer counting, we focused on works and how proud God is when you are obedient to His Word. This week, before we jump into a more inclusive understanding of "atonement" (kippur), I want to suggest to you that our definition of holiness may not be the most accurate term to employ, and at minimum, we should add some focused clarity. In fact, I think the word Kedoshim ("holiness") could easily be redefined as "self-control." Huh? Please explain, Mr. Obvious :-). Have you ever noticed that all the commandments found in Scripture are all about self-control? Holiness—being set apart—is all about self-control. Choosing to live set apart and not fall into line with the majority of people who are walking on the "broad way," which is the path that leads to destruction (Matt. 7:13–14).

Everything in our immediate experience supports our deep belief that we, each of us individually, are the absolute center of the universe—that we are the realist, most vivid, and most important person in existence. Think about it: the world as you experience it is there in front of you, behind you, to your left, and to your right—on your TV, on your monitor, and so on. From your vantage point and perspective, you are indeed the center of the universe. There is no experience you have had that you are not the absolute center of. We rarely think about this sort of natural, basic self-centeredness because it is so socially repulsive, but it is the reality for each of us. It is our default setting, hardwired into our motherboards. Other people's thoughts and feelings have to be communicated to you somehow, but even those have to be filtered through the prism of your perceptions, perspectives, and beliefs. This is not a discussion about compassion, or other-directedness, or the so-called virtues. No, this is not a matter of virtue. It is a matter of choosing to do the work of somehow altering or getting free of our natural hardwired default setting—which is to be deeply self-centered and to see and interpret everything around you through the lens of self.

Let us allow our minds to take another step out of the forest. In the day-to-day trenches of adult life, there is actually no such thing as atheism. There is no such thing as not worshiping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship. Whether you worship some sort of God or spiritual type—Yeshua, Allah, Buddha, the wicked mother goddess Ishtar or Aphrodite, the Truth, or any set of divinely inspired, holy ethical principles—you are a worshiper. And in doing so, you are subjugating your own rational mind to maintain your lifestyle of worship in order to swallow the doctrine and mythologies of your worshipful perspective—good or evil.

If you worship money and things, that becomes your meaning in life. Unfortunately, with that mindset, you will never have enough and never feel enough.

If you worship your body, beauty, and sexual allure, then you will always feel ugly. And when time and age start showing, you will die "a million deaths" before they finally get the best of you.

If you worship power, you will end up feeling weak, always afraid, and you will need more power over others in order to numb your own fear.

If you worship your intellect—being seen as smart—you will end up feeling stupid. You will feel like a fraud and constantly be anxious about being found out.

The insidious thing about these forms of worship is not that they are evil or sinful. It is that they are unconscious. They are default settings. They are a kind of worship that you just gradually slip into day after day, getting more and more selective about what you see and how you measure your value, without ever being fully aware that is what you are doing. As one fish said to the other, "What in the world is water?" The whole trick is keeping the truth in front of your consciousness. But the so-called real world will not discourage you from your default settings, because the so-called real world of men is merely a pool of fear and anger, frustration, cravings, and the worship of self. Our modern culture has harnessed these forces in a way that has yielded extraordinary wealth, comfort, and personal freedom—the freedom for all of us to be "lords of our tiny skull-sized kingdoms," alone at the center of all creation.

But, of course, there are different kinds of freedom, and the kind that is most precious, you will not hear much talk about in the great world of wanting and worshiping. The really important kind of freedom involves attention and awareness and discipline, and being able to truly care about other people and sacrifice for them over and over in a myriad of petty, unsexy ways, every day. You see, that is real freedom. That is being enlightened. That is being educated. That is understanding how to think for yourself. The alternative is unconsciousness, the default setting, the rat race, the constant sense of having had and lost some infinite thing.

This is the purpose of the "Good Morning" studies: to have you take an honest, deeper look inside of yourself and make the decision that you are going to pursue truth (John 8:32). The challenge before each one of us is the million-dollar question: "What is truth?" As you read through the Torah portion last week from Leviticus 19–21, you saw that every statement that is made is a functional statement to your perspective as the center of the universe, and to turn it on its head and make those around you the center of the universe—which will ultimately honor the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Luke 20:37; Acts 3:13; 7:32).

Today, on the 22nd day of counting the Omer, you are over halfway into the ascent. Now you are into the second half, walking out of the forest toward daylight. I do not know what you will be doing for your Shavuot celebration, but whatever it is, I hope and pray that your center of the universe will become oriented where people will be blessed, and their lives will be impacted because of your willingness to demonstrate self-control. Enjoy your victorious day of worshiping the Most High in holy fashion!

Happy first day of the week and 22nd day of counting the Omer.

Shalom,
Alan