Increasing Sanctification
Because the word sanctification means separated unto God or separated for the purposes and use of God, and because biblical wisdom opposes worldly wisdom (see Arsy Varsy) increased sanctification requires less entanglement with worldly ways and means. This, however, does not mean creating a Christian commune in the country or a Christian ghetto in the city. Rather, we need to stop responding like cattle to the influences of advertising and marketing, and begin responding faithfully to God’s Word.
Our minds are filled with the sludge of those who are trying to affect us one way or another, who are vying for our attention. That sludge has captivated our attention by pushing our emotional buttons — and for what? Notice that the more “plugged in” to the world we are (cell phones, Internet, TV, etc.) the less attention we pay to those people who are physically and geographically nearest to us at any point in our day. We are neglecting our neighbors in order to keep up with the world.
Seeing and Speaking
The first thing to do is to see the problem. And this is difficult because people don’t want to look at problems. They want to see answers. But failing to see the problems correctly leads only to the wrong answers. The problem must be properly diagnosed before a successful remedy can be applied.
The second thing we need to do is to talk about what we see. We must begin a real and serious dialog about the problem — not just our leaders, but we the people must give them direction. Denial leads to death. We don’t have all the answers, but we do have some important questions. And we trust that God has the answers. You can help by learning what we are doing.