thisisfoster (@thisisfoster)

So God, in His grace, woke you up and you see your need to grow in practical holiness. Now what? Where do you start? Here is a simple approach to get you moving... First, get your ‘frame’ right by internalizing 2 Tim 2:22: “Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.” The Christian must both flee and pursue. Flee seems cowardly. We should stand and boldly fight, right? Sure but flee here is a preventive strategy. Flee can also be translated as shun or escape. For example, one of the best ways to fight obesity is to shun gluttony. Escape common pitfalls by staying off the paths that lead to them. Fleeing is preventive, whereas pursuing is proactive. The Greek word means to earnestly endeavor to acquire. It requires effort to acquire both the virtue and skills intrinsic to mature manhood or womanhood. Hence, idleness and passivity are the enemy of Christian maturity. I have found that books, ministries and speakers tend to all flee or all pursue. Speaking roughly… All flee results in a morality that is detached from any practical reality. All pursue results in a pragmatism that is detached from moral principles. Scripture wisely pairs them together. So what are those things men should flee and pursue? Flee “youthful lusts” and “pursue righteousness.” We find more specific examples of flee/pursue in Proverbs: Flee foolishness, pursue wisdom. Flee immoral gangs of men, pursue wise counselors. Flee flatterers, pursue truth-tellers. Flee slothfulness, pursue productivity. Flee immoral women, pursue a godly helpmate. Study Proverbs, Christians. It is especially helpful for men to listen to the inspired wisdom of a father to a son. However, the general wisdom applies to all and women can learn much from the example of the Pr 31 wife. What do you need to flee? What do you need to pursue? Write a few down. Be intentional. Find some like minded Christians, ideally within your church, who want to do the same: "...pursue...with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart."