Purity Is Cool and Sacred

Who are you trying to please?

It is a simple question, yet it has the power to reveal so much about our hearts. If we are honest, many of the decisions we make are influenced by a desire to be accepted, understood, or admired by others. We want to fit in. We want people to approve of us. We want to avoid standing out. Yet I wonder if one of our greatest struggles is not simply resisting temptation, but caring too much about what other people think.

As followers of Christ, Scripture continually redirects our attention away from the opinions of people and back to the heart of God. Instead of asking, "Will people accept me?" we are called to ask a different question: "Does this please the Lord?" That question reaches beneath our actions and exposes our motives. It shifts our focus from gaining the approval of others to living in a way that honors the One who gave everything for us.

One of the clearest places we see this is in the way our culture views purity. Purity is often portrayed as something outdated, restrictive, or unrealistic. Waiting is mocked. Boundaries are questioned. Self-control is seen as something to overcome instead of something to admire. We are constantly told to follow our hearts, satisfy every desire, and never let anyone tell us what we should or should not do. Yet Scripture paints a completely different picture. God has never called us to purity because He wants to keep something good from us. He calls us to purity because He is protecting something sacred.

That is why I genuinely believe purity is cool. Not because it is trendy or popular, but because it reflects the heart of God. Throughout Scripture, God continually sets apart what is holy. He calls His people to be set apart, not so they will miss out on life, but so they can experience the fullness of life that is found in Him. Purity has never been about earning God's love or proving our worth. It is the response of a heart that has already encountered both.

When we only think about purity as a list of rules, we miss its beauty. Purity is not simply about what we say no to. It is about what we say yes to. It is saying yes to God's wisdom over our own understanding. It is saying yes to trusting His design, even when the world offers something different. It is choosing to honor Him with our thoughts, our words, our relationships, and our bodies because every part of our lives belongs to Him.

If we are honest, we are not so different from the people around us. We all know what it feels like to want acceptance. We all know what it feels like to worry about standing out. We all face moments where compromise seems easier than conviction. Yet following Jesus has never been about blending into the crowd. It has always been about faithfully following the Shepherd. Sometimes that means standing apart, not because we think we are better than anyone else, but because we belong to Someone greater.

That is why this reminder has become so important to me:

Aim to please God, not people.

People's opinions will change. Culture will continue to redefine what is acceptable. What is celebrated today may be rejected tomorrow. But God does not change. His truth does not change. His goodness does not change. When pleasing Him becomes our greatest desire, we are finally free from the exhausting pursuit of trying to earn everyone else's approval.

The beautiful thing about purity is that it is not sustained by fear. It is sustained by love. The more we know Jesus, the more we desire to honor Him. We stop asking, "How close can I get to the line?" and begin asking, "How can my life bring glory to the One who gave everything for me?" Obedience stops feeling like restriction and begins to feel like worship.

Perhaps purity is not outdated after all.

Perhaps it is one of the most beautiful ways we reflect Christ to the world. Because purity has never been about trying to look perfect. It has always been about loving Jesus enough to want our lives to please Him.

Purity is cool and sacred.

Aim to please God, not people.