If holiness were simply a matter of what we did then our motivations wouldn't matter at all. Yet, scripture is clear that where our heart is at does matter. Yet, if we believe that sincerity is unimportant in the actions of others. It can lead us to force submission. We do see people in the church trying to force righteous actions continually. We see it in everything from on an individual level, to petitioning the government to make laws to force holy behavior. Obviously, their approach indicates that they believe if you force a person's behavior to be right, then they will be by default in the right. Despite that their heart is not in it, that's it's not sincere, that the change is more about being bullied into it, than pleasing God. Such things definitely do not please God, only shortsighted people. (Matthew 15:17-20, Mark 7:6)
Looking at holiness as an action instead of an inner change often leads us to only look at the surface of people, as well as their sin. This leads us to rank righteousness by visibility, and mere appearances. Leading us to make the biggest deal about what is the most noticeable, but giving little consideration of what takes effort to discern. The problem with basing righteousness on appearances is that it is easily faked. Manipulative people know this if only more church people understood this. Look at any church that treats holiness merely as only something you do, instead of becoming. You will likely find more than a few well-dressed fakes. (John 7:24, 1st Samuel 16:7)
Living by the appearance model of holiness tends to make us act very judgmental. Those that only look at the surface will never consider the brokenness behind the sin. Trying to change the actions of others without dealing with the brokenness behind them is like trying to fix a person with two broken legs by pushing them out of their wheelchair. It is unhelpful and just plain cruel. Yet, we are essentially just pushing people over and attempting to take away their emotional crutches by judging them for their actions. That is not how a true disciple should operate. Jesus was so very clear about this one, yet it's an often neglected teaching. If we better understood three-dimensional holiness, we would be better equipped to not violate this truth, because we would realize that holiness is really something you become and not just do. (Matthew 7)
This leads to my final point. The fact that righteousness is but one aspect of holiness, and wholeness is another, really brings this concept home. It illustrates that acting righteous is connected to becoming whole. Yet it's no wonder that all the impatient, unkind, rude, critical, unloving, and judgmental teachers try to bypass the concept of wholeness by only addressing our behavior and appearances. Yet, we wonder why the church is lacking in power and influence. Well, I don't wonder at all. Mere surface righteousness won't really delight and inspire anyone. It won't change or transform anyone either. So nobody is becoming truly holy that way, the best we can hope for is whitewashed righteousness. At worst people are only going to resent the church and everything we stand for, which is happening with alarming frequency. Consider this passage.
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. -Matthew 23:25-26
Notice the wording. It doesn't just say start with the inside, then move to the outside. It says clean the inside, and the outside is clean by default. Unlike the reverse order that people tend to gravitate to that leaves the job incomplete. So if you treat holiness only as something you do, you will naturally neglect the wholeness part of it. Then, your cup is likely still full of hidden brokenness and sin. So I challenge you to take a long hard look at what's in your vessel. It may just explain why you are so unloving, critical, and judgmental of the lost. If you dealt with your own faults, then you might actually know how to address the specks from the eyes of the lost in a Christ-like way.
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