A young man who had entered a monastery wrote to his father and told him how wonderful it was to be there. Every morning at 2 o'clock the men would arise to chant ancient sacred songs.

His father, a wise and thoughtful man, wrote back, "Dear Son: Your mother and I are so happy to know that you have found your vocation. But always remember one thing: We too, and many parents like us living in the world, have arisen on numerous occasions at 2 o'clock in the morning to feed our babies, and in the process have found our own vocation equally sacred."

Living a God-honoring life in an evil world is not primarily a matter of the right outer location but of the right inner separation. What's most important is not where we live but how we live. The essence of the Lord Jesus' prayer for His followers in John 17 was this: "Keep them in the world, but keep the world out of them."

But how can we maintain this "in the world but not of it" balance? Only by regularly taking into our hearts the Word of truth and obeying that Word (v.17).

We must live in the world, but let's make sure we keep the world and its values from living in us.  — RBC Ministries