The Joy of Separation

II Corinthians 6:17

             “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.”

            If you look up the word separation in Webster’s Dictionary, or in any dictionary for that matter, it is doubtful that you will find joy as one of its synonyms. In fact, the word separation has developed some very negative connotations, especially in today’s society. Think of the term as it is used all too often when families break up. A person might say, “Oh no, they have separated!” When separation is used to describe those entities (i.e. families) that were never intended to separate, it indeed takes on a whole new perspective. Our view of separation in general may have become tainted. The problem comes when we apply our definitions to God’s design.

Possibly one of the greater struggles in the Christian walk is to maintain a Biblical standard of separation in our lives, especially as young people. Society today has provided teenagers with their own clothing line and brands, their own music, their own TV shows and movies, their own vocabulary, and in essence their own world! It seems that every corner you turn as a Christian and especially as a teenager, you are being marketed to and influenced in one way or another. Yet, in the middle of this incredibly fast-paced, 24/7, drive-through available, microwave-compatible, volume “pumped up” society, we are supposed to, “…come out from among them, and be ye separate…”?

Let’s be brutally honest. Unfortunately, the average Christian teenager today looks no different, talks no different, and often acts no different than the teenager who doesn’t have a relationship with God and doesn’t attend a youth group on Sunday or Wednesday. This attitude among Christians begs the question: why? The simple answer is that we have redefined God’s design of separation from this world as uncomfortable and unnecessary, and in so doing have lost the joy of separation! Instead of seeing separation as a privilege, we view it as a burden or an unfortunate necessity of being a Christian.

We admit and acknowledge that we are saved, but we reject the calling of our Savior to a separated lifestyle. Our reasoning behind this is that we view Biblical separation as separation from the world and that’s it. Young person, we are sadly mistaken when we do this! The principle of separation is probably best seen in Psalms 1:1-2. Verse one gives us the list of those things we are to separate from: “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.” Here we find what to separate from, but that’s not it! Verse two gives us the other half: “But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.” Young person, separation is not just separating from the world, but it is also separating to God! Without realizing it, we limit our relationship with our Heavenly Father when we refuse to separate from this world, and in essence, refuse to separate to God. The joy of separation comes when we take our eyes off of the world we are walking away from and put them on the omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent God that we are embracing! Separation is not just turning down the volume of the world, but it’s tuning in and turning up the volume of God’s Word. What happens when you do this? All of a sudden life makes sense, and there is a certain unexplainable and unspeakable joy. As a young person, for the first time maybe, you have a clear purpose in life. Is there still a lot that you are unsure of? Of course! But you’ve got a Friend that sticketh closer than a brother, an eternal Guide, and an ultimate Authority and God in your life. 

I have many memories with my youth pastor when I was a teenager. Bro Kurt was a lot of fun, and some of those memories are absolutely hilarious! One memory that sticks out to me took place my junior year in high school when our youth group went up to a Nashville Predators game for a youth activity. We arrived at the Bridgestone Arena with a busload of teenagers, all of us hooping and hollering, excited about the game. As we began to get unload, the tickets were handed to each teenager until all the tickets were handed out. Somewhere along the way, someone had miscalculated, and we were two tickets short. Not really caring about seeing the team warm up and wanting to hang out with my youth pastor, I volunteered to accompany him as he parked the bus.

When we had finally found parking, we locked the bus up (as much as a bus can be locked up I guess) and headed inside. The arena seemed unusually full, and when we got to the ticket counter to purchase two more tickets for our admission, all of the cheap nosebleed seats were gone. The cheapest seats we could find were on the level right above rink side, and they were expensive. The idea was to purchase tickets to get us in the door and then we could sit with our group, but this was turning into a costly affair. With no other alternative available, Bro Kurt purchased the tickets and we headed inside. The game was just beginning, and as we made our way to our seats we could see our youth group way up in the nosebleed. With plenty of chaperones there and the youth group under control, Bro Kurt suggested that we get our money’s worth out of the tickets and spend the first period in our expensive seats with a great view.

I’ll never forget that youth activity. It was awesome! We talked about everything from the game to grades. I had no theological reasoning to decide to separate from the group and go with my youth pastor. Looking back though, I learned a deep theological truth. You see, my motive was not to separate from the youth group; rather it was to separate to my youth pastor. Often I think we get so caught up in this world that we don’t want to separate from it, and in turn we lose the joy of separating to God. Let’s put our fleshly wants and desires behind us as Romans 13:14 states, and rather focus on becoming like and spending time with our God. Are you separated to God today, or have you allowed the world to redefine separation as unnecessary and uncomfortable for you?