They are to teach my people the difference between
 the holy and the common…
Ezekiel 44:23

What is the difference between the holy and the common? And why does it matter? It matters because right here in Scripture, we are told to learn the difference!

Intuition suggests that the difference might be a function of quantity. Holy is less common than … common. But just because something is rare doesn’t automatically mean it’s holy.

Perhaps it is the nature of the activity itself. Are some actions (reading my Bible, going to church, praying) automatically holy, while doing laundry, paying bills, and grading math are more physical tasks, and, therefore, common?

I Corinthians 10:31 tells us, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

These words suggest that even rote physical tasks can bring God glory. And perhaps that is the real difference between the holy and the common. The question that determines whether an action is holy is not What is it?, but rather, Is it done for the glory of God? This verse brings great encouragement! Even common tasks like eating and drinking can be holy if done with the purpose of bringing glory to God. These activities aren’t automatically holy: we have certainly all been guilty of eating and drinking with no thought of bringing glory to God. Intentions matter.

Even common tasks like eating and drinking can be holy if done with the purpose of bringing glory to God. Click To Tweet

Rather, the verse from 1 Corinthians does open up the scope for holy behaviors. I can dust, grade, eat, drink, drive, and cook for the glory of God. I can lead, discipline, teach, listen, shop, clean and tithe for the glory of God. I can sit, think, manage, run, carpool, sing, and go for the glory of God. Even common tasks can become holy tasks when done for God’s glory!

Inherent in the common vs. holy question is the idea of motive.  It’s not only the what that matters, but also the why. Proverbs 16:2 cautions:

 All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the Lord.

God will be the ultimate judge of not only what I am doing, but why I am doing it.  We can ask Him for discernment, and we can also learn from His Word:

 For the word of God is alive and active.
… it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12

I have a confession to make. I’ve always thought Martha got a bad rap! After all, didn’t someone have to cook for Jesus and all those hungry disciples? Perhaps it wasn’t so much what she was doing that brought the kind reprimand from Jesus, but her motivation for doing it.  Maybe it wasn’t the cooking and doing, but the motivation Jesus was addressing. We can cook AND bring glory to God. Was Martha’s anger an indication she was thinking more of herself and less about honoring Jesus?

Seeing our common duties as a holy privilege means we live with purpose and on purpose. Click To Tweet

Perhaps Ezekiel’s challenge is not to make a long list, classifying tasks as holy or common. Perhaps what we need to learn is how to transform the common into the holy. Is it possible that maturing in Christ means life becomes an unending abiding in Him and living for Him? Perhaps sanctification is marked by not so much a changing in what we do, but a changing of the heart’s inward motivation.  Seeing our common duties as a holy privilege means we live with purpose and on purpose. That’s a teaching worth learning. Thank you, Ezekiel!