In the forests of northern Europe and Asia lives little animal called the ermine, known for his snow-white fur in winter. He instinctively protects his white coat against anything that would soil it.
Fur hunters take advantage of this unusual trait of the ermine. They don’t set a snare to catch him, but instead they find his home, which is usually a cleft in a rock or a hollow in an old tree. They smear the entrance and interior with grime. Then the hunters set their dogs loose to find and chase the ermine. The frightened animal flees toward home but doesn’t enter because of the filth. Rather than soil his white coat, he is trapped by the dogs and captured while preserving his purity. For the ermine, purity is more precious than life.[1]
As people of faith we are called to protect and pursue our purity with such sacrifice.
Purity from a Biblical perspective, implies holiness or perfection. Jesus says the expectation is “to be perfect as your father in heaven is perfect.” Sin prevents us from meeting this standard but the expectation remains, Christians should strive for purity.
The church at Rome corrupted this concept believing that sin allowed for God’s grace to abound. Paul addressed this in Romans 6 saying, “What shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?” His response to this question is “by no means” or an emphatic “NO!” As Christians, we should strive for purity and the Bible speaks loudly to this conclusion.
Do not be dismayed because we are indeed forgiven. Jesus said, “God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” Because we are saved through Christ, we strive for purity.
We can strive for purity by knowing and keeping God’s commands and guarding our hearts. The Psalmist describes how to strive for purity:
How can a young man keep his way pure?
By keeping it according to Your word.
We know what purity looks like by knowing God’s word and storing it in our heart. Scripture is the best defense against the lies of the evil one. When Jesus is tempted by Satan in the desert following his 40 days of fasting, he repels each temptation with the Word of God. we are blessed to have God’s Word in our hands and in our homes; read it and store it in your heart and be on the offensive when Satan attacks.
We maintain our purity by guarding our hearts. Solomon provides practical instruction in Proverbs 4:23-24 stating,
Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it.
Keep your mouth free of perversity;
keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
The “heart” here is not the literal heart but the essence of man…you may have heard the expression, that guy has a lot of heart…it is the whole man the physical, intellectual, and psychological. The heart governs all of these parts. It is the heart that makes a person who they are in character, morality, personality, mind.
The physical heart that beats in our chest is amazing, critical for life, it is strong and resilient, but we can damage it. Sure, there are catastrophic events that make the heart stop but we usually damage it slowly over time and it is often too late by the time we realize the damage. For example, we slowly destroy our heart with cholesterol. Some of our favorite foods are loaded with it…but that doesn’t change the fact that it is harmful. The same thing happens in our life…our character…our morality…our personality…our will…our mind…our biblical heart. We ever so slowly destroy our spiritual heart with things that we might label as harmless.
We protect our heart from destruction by filling it with good. We can inadvertently destroy our hearts with negativity from books, movies, music, and headline news. Paul urges the church at Philippi to maintain purity stating,
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
The Ermine reminds us to protect and pursue purity. Protect your purity with God’s Word and by actively guarding your heart.
[1] Our Daily Bread, April 21, 1997
The Chaplain's Anvil 