“’Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,’ says the Lord. ‘And do not touch what is unclean; and I will welcome you.’”
II Corinthians 6:17 (NASB)
Lately, with a disease spreading unchecked, there has been a lot of talk about cleanliness. There are recommendations to cover our mouths, rigorously wash our hands, and even avoid touching both handrails and elevator buttons. All of this discussion is an acknowledgment that things we touch can be dirty, and touching dirty things can cause disease.
In the Old Testament, God taught his people the difference between dirty and clean. He taught them not to touch certain things, and if they were forced to or accidently did touch those things, they were to wash and separate themselves in order to be clean. The physical benefits of being clean are obvious to us today, but back then the people needed to be instructed. The point was not simply to be clean physically, but to learn the concepts of dirty and clean.
Because of God’s instruction on cleanliness, the Israelites were unique, or separate, from the people around them. They would have abstained from behaviors that were common among other people. They also would have removed themselves from the presence of people who were willfully being unclean. In the passage above we see the same instruction for us today. It is not simply enough to abstain from certain behaviors while still allowing those close to us to continue. Instead, we ought to separate ourselves from those practicing wrong. We are to come out from among those who are not clean so that we may not be touched by them. If we do not separate ourselves, we condone their behavior and prove ourselves to be likewise unclean. The dirty will not be made clean by simply being in the presence of the clean. Instead, the dirty thing will always cause the clean to become dirty. Why then do we allow our friends and family to be unclean around us?
Instead, we ought to separate ourselves from unclean behavior and wash up. Washing to become clean is not easy. It is said that many people do not wash their hands properly. It may be that washing properly takes too much effort. Our spiritual selves are no different; it takes real effort to scrub ourselves from unclean behaviors and associations. It probably takes even more courage to teach others to clean themselves properly. Thankfully we are not alone. God has given us a church of people who are also separate and clean. It is much easier to keep ourselves clean when we prefer the presence of our spiritual brethren. If we prefer the presence of the world, we will find ourselves having to clean ourselves up more often. We might even get to the point where we can’t tell we are dirty anymore.
Perhaps we are washing our hands a little more often than we were before. Each time we wash our hands, let’s consider whether or not we need to cleanse our heart as well.