Learning

Deuteronomy 18:9 When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there.

I see a couple of things here that are my reminders to be careful about my interaction with the world around me.  First, I have to be careful that I do not become like the world in its detestable ways.  God wants me to be different.  Secondly, I must make every effort to not learn to imitate the world’s ways.  Learning is something I can choose to do or not to do, at least to a great extent.  So I can at least be conscious of what is influencing, or teaching me, and can resist learning what I should not learn.  This is part of the way I keep myself holy toward God which is the goal God wants for every believer.  As I look back over my life I clearly see how key this principle is.  The times in my life when I let down my guard and allowed myself to “learn” ways that were not pleasing to God are the times I would now consider to be the lowest points in my life journey and took time and spiritual effort to recover from.