Unstained from the World....

How many times have I read the book of James?  Many times in several translations.  When I was reading it this past week, a phrase jumped out of this verse:

[Jas 1:27 ESV] 27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

Keep oneself unstained from the world.  Only one person who has lived on earth has been able to do this and that is Jesus himself.  Is it possible for the rest of us?  Is it wasted effort for us to even try if success is likely to be out of our reach?  It is our duty to try and be more like Jesus as His follower.  How does this look in a 21st century person's life?  One thing I do know is that the way it looks for me isn't going to look the same as it does for you because each of us struggles with different sins that take our focus off of pursuing Jesus.

Here are some of my particular struggles that have left me "stained":

1. Contentment.  At one point, I didn't fully believe that Jesus was enough.  Sad but true.  I would shop and pursue things to fill something inside me but it never worked.  But God has helped me in this area.  I'm not completely cured but I can see that I've made significant progress.  
2. Addiction.  Not to drugs but to certain behavior patterns that I just loved to wallow in.  Behavior that wasn't becoming to a believer.  Thanks be to God for the work of the Holy Spirit who convicts us of things we need to change and then helps us to change bad behavior to more godly behavior.
3. Thoughtless speech.  Used to be whatever I thought, immediately came out of my mouth with no anticipation of effect on a situation or the people I was speaking with.  I frequently regretted having perpetual "foot in mouth" disease.  Maybe getting older helps to regulate this area.  Then again, some people feel the right to say "whatever" because they have earned the right simply because they have attained a chronological age.

So I think we are all stained.  But as the Holy Spirit does His work, we become less stained the longer we walk with God.  We have the hope of being spotless when Jesus returns and transforms us and that is the day I long for.