“HOW little people know who think that holiness is dull. When one meets the real thing, it is irresistible.” --C.S. Lewis
Godliness is showing reverence for God and a life of Holiness in the world. In the same manner, when someone practices piety, it is showing forth on how to live our lives to make our God proud.
It is living a life that embodies the humble life of Christ. A godly person has an active lifestyle of surrender in obeying God's word.
In his letter to Timothy, Paul of Tarsus stated that “Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth.” To live a life of godliness is also living a life of contentment.
What is true holiness? It is living a life that is pleasing to God. It is God's standard for all people. Mother Angelica stated that holiness of life is not the privilege of the chosen few - it is the obligation, the call, and the will of God for His children.
Pope John Paul II addresses the participants in the colloquium on Holiness in Christianity and Islam said that these days, it is more important than ever that men and women of faith, assisted by God's grace, should strive for true holiness.
Self-centered tendencies, such as greed, the lust for power and prestige, competition, revenge, the lack of forgiveness, and the quest for earthly pleasures—all these threaten to turn humankind from the path to goodness and Holiness, which God has intended for all of us. The countless numbers of good people around the world — Christians, Muslims, and others — who quietly lead lives of authentic obedience, praise, and thanksgiving to God and selfless service of their neighbor, offer humanity a genuine alternative, “God's way”, to a world which otherwise would be destroyed in self-seeking, hatred, and struggle.
In our daily lives, it is not impossible to portray godliness and holiness first, holiness calls for an engaged mind.
Jeff Bridges, in his book “The Pursuit of Holiness,” mentioned that “Holiness begins in our minds and works out to our actions. This being true, what we allow to enter our minds is critically important. The television programs we watch, the movies we may attend, the books and magazines we read, the music we listen to, and the conversations we have all affect our minds.”
Second, Holiness calls for self-control. Jeff Bridges also emphasized that “Holiness has to do with more than mere acts. Our motives must be holy, that is, arising from a desire to do something simply because it is the will of God. Our thoughts should be holy since they are known to God even before they are formed in our minds.” Holiness rests on hope in Jesus Christ It is the process of being transformed from a sinner into His image and likeness.”
Lastly, holiness looks like obedience and transformation: Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope entirely on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. (1 Peter 1:13-16)
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. (Colossians 3:1-10)